


Lines in the Sand

by ChaoticWanderer



Series: Lines [3]
Category: The Transformers (IDW Generation One), Transformers - All Media Types, Transformers: Prime
Genre: Alien Mythology/Religion, Canon-Typical Violence, M/M, Mech Preg, Minor Character Death, Transformer Sparklings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-01-11
Updated: 2018-08-08
Packaged: 2018-09-16 21:40:47
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 22
Words: 104,772
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/9290726
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChaoticWanderer/pseuds/ChaoticWanderer
Summary: The war is over, but not all of the battles have been fought yet.Tags to be updated as needed.  I'll be pulling ideas and characters from IDW as well since Prime simply doesn't have enough and I know that realm best.





	1. Old friends and new ones

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for all the encouragement to write more in this universe, I appreciate the support for my self-indulgent ramblings! Feedback is appreciated and encouraged.
> 
> And as always feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed!

A datapad slid slowly into his field of vision as he sat at their table in their joint quarters, which drew Megatron’s optics over to his companion.

“What’s this?”

“Another housing suggestion from Soundwave. While, at first, I appreciated that you allowed everyone else to move down to Cybertron first, we are the last ones up here and I, too, would like to have suitable quarters down in the city proper.”

He cycled his vents, gusting warm air over the datapad in front of him. 

“Someone needs to remain on this ship -”

“There are crews slated to operate the ship at all times so I fail to see why we have to stay here as well.”

“This ship has been my home for a very long time and I find myself thinking that the twins are safer here than down there.”

Prime shook his helm and only the crinkle around his optics gave away the fact that the slagger was secretly smiling at him. 

“Soundwave took into account the numerous issues you have had with the other units we have looked at, so you should at least go see his latest suggestion.”

Megatron ground his denta together as he took in the earnest expression on the other’s face. “Fine, we will go take a look at it, but I make no promises.”

“Excellent!” Optimus practically lit up the room with his smile.

He narrowed his optics at the other mech when the door slid open and the twins raced inside heading straight for him, while just outside stood the pair of vehicons who had been watching over them grinned at him. Usually they ran to whoever was first in their path and Optimus was closer to the door than he was.

“‘Tor!” the pair exclaimed happily.

He gathered them up and didn’t bother to hide his smile at the butchered glyph that they had called him. It was their first word, and only one so far, but they had arbitrarily started calling him the back half of it while Optimus was the first half of it, much to the amusement of those around them.

“Creator,” he said. He tried to enunciate the word correctly but still keep it simple enough for them to repeat.

“Tor!”

He laughed. “Close enough for now, I suppose. Have you heard that we are going to look at another place down in Protihex?”

Tiny helms nodded eagerly and he quirked an eye ridge over at Prime where he stood stoically by the door.

“Planned this all out, haven’t you?”

Optimus’ smile just widened as he led them down the corridor toward the flight deck. The familiar portal whirled to life in front of them and he felt the excitement from the twins leap over the bond. Their fear of the vortex had eased as trips down to the planet had become more frequent. Their people had settled into the city below allowing their world to expand, making each time still an adventure to the little ones. They gripped his arm as he stepped through it and out into the city proper. A quick glance around him had him pinpointing their location as near the only hospital currently in use near the center of what they had begun calling New Protihex. Off to one side Soundwave waited and he nodded to his friend.

“So I hear you’ve found another one for us to view.”

The mech inclined his head and pointed at a building opposite from where he was facing. He twisted and viewed the large structure indicated; it was a rather plain building, but not as tall as many of its neighbors though. However, unless it had something glaringly wrong with it, he didn’t see how he could get out of moving off the ship this time. 

“Well, let’s go see it,” he said as he waved his hand toward it.

Soundwave set off at once, he followed behind the other mech, and Prime fell into step beside him. He didn’t have to look at Optimus in order to tell that the mech was pleased, it practically radiated over the bond he shared with the twins. Soundwave stepped up to the keypad and entered a code before pointing up at the security cameras that covered the front entrance.

“That’s all well and good, but is there anyone watching?” Megatron asked as he stepped inside the foyer.

“The cameras are for the residents to view who is at the door, but the feed is stored at a separate location for safety. Currently there are only two residents in this particular building - Ratchet and Soundwave. Ratchet took a unit on the ground floor and Soundwave took one on the top floor and ours will be on the second floor,” Optimus answered.

The red and blue mech strode towards a door. 

“Until the power grid is fully functional, all the elevators are turned off like the other buildings, but the stairs are through here.”

He followed him up the stairs until Prime opened the door that led out onto the next floor, together they walked into the hall. On either side of him was a door, Optimus pointed to the one he faced.

“That one is the one I would like for us to take. Both units are the same, but you can see the newly formed crystal garden from that side.”

Soundwave keyed in the code and the door slid open revealing a much larger living area than what they currently shared. Several more doors hid the rest of the interior from them.

“Tor!” 

He glanced down and found the pair in his arms pointing urgently at the ground.

“You really must learn more words; it will make your desires much easier to get across.”

Optimus laughed. “True, but I think anyone can tell what they want now. Soundwave checked it out for us, so go ahead and let them explore.”

He lowered himself until he rested one knee on the floor before he placed the twins down, but his hands cupped them before they could race away which earned him a needy whine of tiny engines.

“Stay in this unit, understood?”

Smiles and nods came from the pair and he unleashed them on the area. Hand in hand they rushed off to the closest door and pushed it open before they peered inside and when the lights flickered on then they dashed inside. Megatron pushed himself upright. 

“Have you checked this place out already?”

“Yes,” Optimus said. “I wanted to make sure it was as good as Soundwave claimed and it is better than I hoped for, so thank you, for that, Soundwave.”

“Gratitude unnecessary. Soundwave - optimal position for sparklings.”

Megatron stopped his evaluation of the apartment to quirk an eyebrow ridge at his friend, who currently had what the humans called a ‘happy face’ drawn on his visor and barked out a laugh at the sight.

“You’re telling me, you set this place up for us so you can be on hand should the twins need some extra supervision?”

“Affirmative.”

There were no good reasons he could think of not to move now and he ex-vented before turning to Prime.

“If both of you have addressed all of our concerns than I guess there is nothing more for us to do but pack our few belongings up and settle in here,” Megatron said with a shake of his head.

“Thank you. I knew you would like it here if you saw it. We will need a bridge back up to the ship so we can pack, if you please, Soundwave.”

Soundwave inclined his helm and in a few long strides was out of the unit.

“Topspin, Twin Twist, we need to head back up to the ship to get our things,” Prime said.

The pair peeked out of the room they were in and shook their helms.

“If we are going to move in, than we all need to go back. You would not like it if we were that far from you. So come now,” Megatron said as he pointed to the ground next to his pede.

The two mechs attention turned inwards when an incoming transmission came over the officer channel.

:The outpost on Earth just contacted us, they have an Autobot ship incoming,: Dreadwing said.

:Bridge them to the ship. We will be back shortly,: Optimus said.

Prime scooped up the sparklings as they walked slowly towards their creators.

“We have some new arrivals coming in, would you like to go with me to meet them or go with Megatron to help him pack?”

“Key!” Topspin said as he patted the broad windshield he was held against.

Twin Twist nodded as well. “Key.”

~+~+~

Tiny servos clutched at the cables on his neck and their frames twitched about as they perched on his shoulders. The wait had them all shifting impatiently, including the pair of vehicons that waited behind him. The vortex whirled to life on the far side of the flight deck and a ship emblazoned with the name of Axalon roared as it came through the energy field before finally settling down onto the larger ship. Their identity had been confirmed before they had passed through the space bridge, but he wondered how many were left of the original crew.

The door to the ship opened and a familiar hulking red frame scanned the area before descending.

“Ironhide! It is good to see you again! How many are with you?”

A shoulder lifted a little before dropping. “Just me and Prowl now, Prime.”

Blue optics brightened as they caught sight of the sparklings on Optimus.

“Those the little scraplets Bee told us about? All clear, Prowl,” Ironhide shouted back towards the ship even as he continued forward. “I still can’t get mah processor around the whole idea of you and Ol’Buckethead making them or was Bee just teasin’ me?”

Optimus held up a servo, “Ironhide,” and then pointed at one of the sparklings sitting on him.

“Right, sorry, Prime.”

The red mech’s optics took in the two mechs waiting behind his leader and his engine revved a little aggressively.

“Are those guards for us or you?”

Optimus shook his helm and he waved a servo towards the two vehicons who took a step forward. 

“This is Ivan and Ping; they are part of what is fondly known as the Sparkling Brigade. Should something come up, they care for them until one of us is free.”

The big red bot settled back a little and turned his attention back towards his leader.

“And it is true and I will try and explain how it came about, but I have no regrets.”

“I, too, am curious about how as my tac-net has been unable to predict exactly how events could have unfolded to end where we are,” Prowl said.

The mostly white mech tilted just a little as he stepped out of the vehicle in order to prevent his door wings from catching on it.

“I promise to explain it all later. Tell me though; have you heard anything from Jazz recently?”

“No, he went to investigate a Decepticon outpost several vorns ago and we haven’t heard from him since.”

Optimus’ spark sank a little at that news. Soft beeps brought him out of his thoughts when he realized they were upsetting the twins.

“Forgive me, little ones, I had hoped that one of my oldest friends would have been on this ship and I am sad to hear he is not.”

“Ah, Prime, don’t you worry about him, you know that mech, he’ll show up like a case of rust just when you least expect it,” Ironhide said. “I’m sure he’s out there causing too much trouble and didn’t get your message yet.”

“You may be right; at least, I hope you are.”

With a gentle touch he picked up and placed the twins down onto the deck. “Topspin, Twin Twist, I would like for you to meet two of my other friends - the big red one is Ironhide and the white one is Prowl. Please welcome them back to Cybertron.”

The sparklings gazed up at their creator and at his nod they walked up to the other two mechs.

“They have become our official welcoming committee as everyone seems to enjoy meeting them.”

A grin spread across Ironhide’s face as he dropped down to one knee and his hand stretched out towards the pair. They each grabbed a hold of one of his much larger finger’s and shook it.

“They are slaggin’ cute, but what in the Pit are they trying to do to my hand?”

“Language, please. That is a greeting they learned on Earth.”

“Ah, well, than thank you. It’s nice to meet ya as well.”

They repeated the process with Prowl and a corner of that mech’s mouth crept up.

“No one has been able to make newsparks in more vorns than I care to count and yet you managed to produce twins. You truly must be blessed by Primus.”

“Ah, well, it was Megatron’s spark that nurtured them, I just helped.”

Ironhide’s engine gave an angry rumble. “Now that would have taken a miracle. Didn’t think he had enough of a spark left to grow anything but hate with.”

The sparklings scampered back to Prime and clung to his pedes.

“Ironhide, enough! If you can’t moderate your words around them than I will ask you not to say anything at all.” 

His friend’s face fell. “I’m sorry. It’s been too long since I’ve been around anything remotely innocent.”

Prime nodded and swept the twins up. “I understand. Perhaps we should bring you down to the med-bay. I had Ratchet come up to the ship to give you both a check-up, something we have all new arrivals go through. You did receive copies of the treaty as well, correct?”

Not waiting for an answer, Prime turned and headed for the hall leading to the interior of the ship. Ironhide and Prowl fell in behind him after a quick glance back as the vehicons followed behind.

“Yes. I was surprised to see that you had agreed to no reparations,” Prowl said.

“Neither side declared victory and as Megatron pointed out it would only lead to more anger and accusations when new arrivals joined us.”

The rest of the journey was in silence as they trooped down the corridor. The portal to the med-bay opened before them revealing Ratchet and two vehicons helms bent together over a datapad. Ratchet grinned as he took in the new arrivals.

“Excellent. Sam, Siegfried - you take Prime for his checkup and I’ll handle the other two.”

Optimus took a step backwards causing the mechs behind him to do the same.

“Shall we make a break for it, Prime?” Ironhide asked in a low voice.

“Uh uh uh! You wouldn’t want to set a bad example for the twins, would you?”

A heavy ex-vent came from the red and blue mech. “Of course not, but I think your assistants should help you with Ironhide and Prowl. My checkup can wait.”

Ratchet’s hands ended up on his hips as he glared up at his friend and leader. “Right, like you skipped out on last week’s? I think not. Especially as Megatron commed me earlier telling me that you have been off. You - in there and don’t give my assistants a hard time! You two, come with me! Ivan, Ping - you’re in charge of the twins for now.”

Vehicons leapt into action, two steering Prime towards a waiting room even as he was divested of sparklings. Optimus heard Ratchet talking to the little ones just before the door shut behind him.

“Don’t you worry; I’ll make sure he’s in top condition.”

“Please, sir, if you would lie down on the table, it will make our jobs that much easier,” Sam said as he took a step toward the slab in the middle of the room.

“Of course,” Optimus said with a soft ex-vent. Seeing no escape, he reclined onto the soft surface and opened his medical port. 

“Thank you, sir. This shouldn’t take long,” Siegfried said.

He felt the touch of the medical diagnostics as it began collecting data and shuttered his optics to wait for them to finish.

“I think you grabbed the wrong scanner, Sieg.”

“No, I didn’t. Remember, Ratchet said that the Matrix frequently interferes with scans. You’ll have to use the wand to get a good reading on his spark.”

“I assure you that is not necessary. My spark is just fine.”

“I’m sure it is, sir. But we are on strict orders to scan it, Ratchet wants to gather as much data as possible about recovery of sparks after they have formed newsparks,” Sam said.

“Then you should be cornering Megatron, not myself.”

“Oh, trust me, Ratchet has been doing just that, but yours contributed as well so he wants to see how the whole process works on the co-creator. He’s hoping to develop a better theory on how it happens than well the whole Primus blessed idea. This will only take a minute if you open up, sir.”

Another ex-vent and he released the plates protecting his spark. He brought his optics online as the Matrix pulsed brightly from where it rested in his chassis.

“Oh! It’s beautiful.”

“Scan it, Sam, before Ratchet yells at us about ogling.”

“Right. Sorry, sir. It’s just -”

“I understand it is quite impressive if you have not seen it before in person.”

The berth lowered further so that the much smaller vehicons could work on him. The handheld scanner quivered only a little as the one called Sam lowered it into his chest. He expected the wand to be removed just as fast as it was inserted, but instead it kept being shifted about.

“Is there a problem?”

“Uh, I think the Matrix is interfering with the readings. I mean it’s picking up two different spark signatures. Sieg, are you sure this is the right wand?”

“I’m positive. Let me try it, maybe you are holding it to close to that artifact. I mean it is really bright, is that normal, sir? It won’t zap us or anything will it?”

“Yes, it is perfectly safe. If anything, I am only getting a vague sense of it being pleased. Perhaps you should call Ratchet.”

The second vehicon pulled out something from under a cabinet and stepped up onto it. 

“Oh, we will if we can’t get a proper reading but he wanted us to do this. Something about getting experience working under all sorts of conditions,” Siegfried said as he took the device from Sam.

The wand shifted about and he looked up as vents stuttered above him.

“Sam, I think we need to get Ratchet.”

The second vehicon bolted out of the door so fast that Optimus tried to find an issue in his system himself. No errors came back from the self-diagnostic.

“Is there a problem? I am not detecting any major malfunctions of any sort.”

“Umm, it looks like a newspark. But that can’t be, can it?” 

The red and white medic stomped into the exam room and snatched the wand from Siegfried.

“This is supposed to be straight forward, you’ve done this a dozen times. Is that slaggin artifact distracting both of you?”

“No, sir. Just the wand indicated a second spark signal and visual confirmed it. Take a look for yourself.”

“What!” 

Ratchet took the offered wand and moved into the spot the vehicon had occupied. His optics cycled in and out as he viewed what the vehicons had spotted. The scanner merely confirmed what his optics told him. He pinned both vehicons with a glare.

“Not a word of this leaves this room. If I so much as hear a hint of this anywhere before Prime announces it and I’ll format both of you into a set of solvent dispensers!”

“Yes, sir! We would never,” Sam said while Siegfried nodded desperately.

“Ratchet, I thought you said that the Matrix would prevent newsparks from forming.”

“Well, the shell did, but it’s active now so no telling what that thing will do. I take it you did share sparks with someone and this isn’t the artifact just doing its own thing?”

“Yes, I did, but it was for pleasure only.”

The medic grunted. “Well, that explains your increasing need for fuel; you’ll also have to add spark merges in as well if you want it to form properly. If that is a problem, well, it is early enough -”

“No! May I have a moment alone please?”

“Of course, I’ll get someone else to finish up the tour for Ironhide and Prowl. Take your time, Optimus,” Ratchet said. 

He patted the bright blue shoulder before shooing his assistants out of the room leaving Prime alone. The Matrix gleamed brilliantly and a warmth flashed through his chassis just before his plates closed about his spark once more.

_“I am well pleased with you, Optimus.”_

“Did you cause this newspark to form?” Leave it to Primus to do something like this. A soft laugh tickled his processor at his thought.

_“There was all that excess charge and I keenly felt your desire to experience what Megatron had with the twins. If you do not wish to share sparks with him again, I can make it so that the Matrix will provide the energy instead of him.”_

“You can do that? Will it affect the newspark at all?”

_“I can. It will mean that the newspark will share a bond with the Matrix much as you do and when it comes time for your spark to rejoin me, well the Matrix will only go to your creation.”_

“I see. May I have some time to make this decision?”

_“Of course, the newspark will require you to merge by tomorrow night, if you haven’t by then, well than the Matrix will provide it with the energy it needs.”_

“I see.”

The warmth from the artifact faded as the god’s presence left him and all he could think was this was some sort of cruel test by his god and he didn’t want to think of what the consequences might be if he chose wrong. An incoming ping from Megatron had him rubbing his helm and he ex-vented into the quiet of the room. 

:Optimus, aren’t you done yet?:

:I am, are you in our old quarters still?:

:I was just going to head to get the twins so we could head down to the city.:

:Stay there. We need to talk.:

:I’ll be waiting.:


	2. Primus

Optimus’ stride shortened as he neared where their old quarters used to be. The turmoil that threatened to overtake him with every step was kept at bay only by the thought of how it would distress the twins. Of course, he had no illusion that the discussion he needed to have with Megatron was going to be easy. Their relationship had never been normal and that certainly hadn’t changed since they had settled into this unusual arrangement for the sake of the twins. Although he was listed as co-creator of the twins legally, the two mechs who created them weren’t even listed as Amica. They were just two mechs orbiting about the sparklings they somehow had managed to create. 

With a heavy ex-vent, he placed his palm on the access panel; the door slid open revealing the silver mech sitting on a chair with a datapad in hand. Red optics narrowed as they took in his appearance. The pad disappeared and the former miner rose with a grace that was at odds for such a large mech.

“Optimus? What is going on? What happened? I could feel the twins becoming agitated, however it seemed to be coming more from your end than theirs. Did those new arrivals say something?”

The last statement was said along with a warning rumble from the big mech’s engine.

A small smile crossed Prime’s lips and he shook his head. “They are fine, but you could say something did happen. Well, several somethings to be more precise.”

An optic ridge crept up on the former Warlord. “Care to be a little more cryptic?”

A long ex-vent left Prime before he sank down onto one of the chairs. He glanced about the room, but nothing was left of the few personal belongings that had been in here. A few large boxes sat by the door, obviously that was where their things had gone. At the impatient hum from the other mech, he turned back towards his companion.

“Ratchet finally cornered me for a checkup,” Optimus said with a shake of his helm. “Oh, and thank you for telling him about my slightly higher fuel consumption, as if he needed anymore ammunition against me.”

The smirk on Megatron’s face had him fighting a smile as well.

“It seemed only fair as that mech has been checking my spark every time I get near him and so far you’ve been able to dodge him. Tell me, what is your secret?”

“Well, I will not be able to do that anymore.” 

He cycled his vents. His attempt to gather his thoughts had the silver mech waving a servo impatiently at him. “Spit it out, Prime!”

Squaring his shoulders, he stared into red optics before he managed to blurt out, “I find myself sparked.”

Megatron’s mouth opened and closed for a moment before a wide grin crossed his face.

“That is unexpected but not unwelcome! So why are you so tense? Surely you want it?”

“Of course I do! Not that - never that - it is just that Primus spoke to me -”

The former Warlord’s engine gave another nasty rumble. “What is that slagger up to now?”

The rasp of metal on metal echoed softly in the room as Optimus rubbed his helm. “He apparently decided that all that excess charge I helped you dissipate should be put to good use.” 

Megatron’s head tilted up as he roared with laughter, but Prime held up a hand when the other mech was about to speak again. “And then he told me that if I did not wish to share sparks with you again, the Matrix would take up the slack so to speak, but not without some consequences. I fear that this is a test and I have no idea what will happen if I choose incorrectly.”

“What exactly does that mean? What consequences?” Megatron asked as his optics widened at those words.

“If I haven’t merged sparks with you by tomorrow night, the Matrix will provide the newspark with the energy it needs to develop properly and it will form a bond with it. That means that when my spark is returned to Primus the Matrix will only go to my creation and they will become the next Prime.”

The silver mech’s helm snapped backwards as he took in Optimus’ fallen shoulders. “You’re not seriously considering that, are you? Is sharing sparks with me that abhorrent?”

Prime’s helm shook slowly. “No, I do not find that distasteful, but what if that is what Primus wants? A newspark destined to be the next Prime?”

“Primus can frag off! I would sooner see the newspark extinguish than have it be forced to become Prime at any point in its life!”

The vehemence in Megatron’s voice stirred something in him as well, shoving that feeling aside he turned back towards the silver mech.

“And what would you have done if Primus had offered you such a thing when you found yourself sparked with the twins? To know that our god would be looking out for them in a way no one else possibly could,” Optimus said before letting his helm droop towards his chest. He delved into his systems, but nothing seemed different. The only change he could spot was the need for more fuel; he felt nothing odd about his spark yet, and it was difficult to believe that a new spark was growing in there sheltered behind the Matrix and his own spark.

“I don’t know, but I do know we were in a very different place then. I probably would have taken my chances because to think that one of them would be lost to that thing as Orion was - no, I don’t think I would have ever chosen that course.”

Prime felt servos grip him firmly on the shoulders and looked up to find scarlet orbs staring at him. 

“What if he takes it away from me because of my choice?” Optimus asked. “My duty is to protect our people, all of them -”

“And if he does that because you chose to allow its co-creator the chance to bond with it, well then, just what sort of god is it that you follow so unfailingly? You are his favored one, the Matrix bearer; I can’t believe he would be that cruel to you. And if he does, then he is the one not worthy of you!”

Blue optics widened at such blasphemy. Megatron took a few steps away and then spun on his heel to watch him once more. Righteous anger began to build quickly in the optics of the former gladiator.

“Tell me, Optimus, would you want either of the twins to take the Matrix now that you know how it works? Can you honestly tell me that you would be okay with one of them losing who they had become, someone that we have grown to love, to that thing?”

A slight shudder ran through his frame. “No, no, I would not wish for either of them to become Prime after me.”

A heavy ex-vent brought his head up to see relief etched on Megatron’s face. 

“Good. I have no qualms about sharing my spark for your newspark, just as you looked out for the twins, I’ll be there for yours.”

His mouth opened and the words of his appreciation he had been about to say were lost to the noise of the ship’s klaxon as it blared its warning even as the alarm lights flashed ominously near the door.

:Report,: Megatron barked over the officer’s channel.

:We have nearly a dozen ships that just entered the system and based on their trajectory and current speed they’ll be entering atmo in about ten minutes. The largest reads as a transport, Cybertronian in origin, but none of them are answering our hails,: Starscream said.

:Try every known language,: Optimus said.

:Assume they have weapons; mobilize all units and start bringing the ship’s weapons online,: Megatron said as he glanced over at Prime. “We’ll finish this later, but you and the twins need to get to safety.”

:Of course they have armaments, how else would they have survived this long! I assume that you’ll be taking your family down to the city for safety?: Starscream asked.

The hint of sarcasm in the seeker’s voice had Megatron snarling a little, but he glanced over at Prime and nodded.

:Yes, I will.:

The words warmed his spark and Optimus pushed himself out of the chair. Someone pinged for admittance, but Megatron must have released it before he could as the door slid open and there stood the vehicons with their charges.

“Raoul, has the rest of the team on standby waiting for us on the ground,” Ivan said as he handed over the twins to Megatron.

Megatron held the pair close, the reassuring hum of his engine settling them before he placed them Prime’s arms. At the worried beeps from the pair, he smiled down at them.

“I am fine. I am sorry I worried you. Something has happened, but we will have to discuss it later. First, we need to get you both to safety, there might be trouble coming.”

Distantly he heard the sounds of their people running through the halls over the noise of the engine and weapons ramping up. Clutching the sparklings close to his chassis, he jogged behind Megatron up to the flight deck. The portal whirled to life as they reached it and in a matter of moments they were through it.

They stepped out and into their little settlement which seethed as bots rushed to take defensive positions around strategic sites guarding those spots most critical to their survival. They barely took in all the activity around them before three more vehicons rushed up to them.

“Sirs, we need to go,” Raoul said.

Silver helm nodded before turning to his companion with his arms held out. “Transform and I’ll place them in your cab.”

Optimus nodded once before depositing the pair into the waiting arms. Stepping back, he activated his transformation sequence and had barely finished before throwing open the closest door. With a slight squawk at the abrupt handling the twins were placed into his interior and his door slammed shut.

:Go! We are right behind you,: Megatron said.

His wheels spun for a moment as he accelerated away, but his seatbelts were already in place holding tiny passengers safely. Overhead, his sensors picked up Megatron in the air above him while the five vehicons formed a perimeter around their Prime. They weren’t far from the hospital, but none of them were willing to take any risks by going there the slow way in bipedal form. 

The roar of thrusters drew his attention upward again as every available combat worthy craft had been sent up, interspersed between them flew the smaller but more agile seekers. There weren’t a lot of them, but the sheer amount of firepower that the _Nemesis_ could bring to bear should swing the fight their way, if it came down to that. Ahead of him, Megatron reverted back to his root mode and dropped down to the ground in front of the medical building. Prime had barely stopped when his door flew open and he released the seatbelts so the other mech could withdraw the sparklings. Around him the sounds of transformation rang out as the vehicons accomplished their own conversion and he followed suit.

Gaining his pedes once more, he guided Megatron still holding the sparklings towards the door. The booms from sonic shock waves drew their attention skyward as the first of the ships began descending on the planet. Their cobbled together squad shifted course to intercept the new arrivals.

“Go inside, we do not want to be out here if there is a fight.”

Megatron nodded before opening the front door, but instead of heading towards where the med-bays were, the group jogged down a different wing. Opening up what looked to have been a large conference room in a previous life, the area had recently been modified so that it now served as a command center for the little colony. Large monitors filled one wall and in front of them stood   
Soundwave.

“Have we been able to make contact with them yet?” Optimus asked.

“Negative.”

The door slid open once more and a familiar white and black frame braced himself on the frame, motionless except for the slight twitch of doorwings.

“I was told this is the command center and I wished to offer my aid.”

Prime smiled and waved the mech in. “Please join us. We have no idea who they are or what they want so all help is appreciated. Do you know where Ironhide is?”

“He went to join the ground troops. Oh, here are our signed copies. We are staying, as if there was any other choice we would have made,” Prowl said as he handed two datapads to Optimus before moving up to stand in front of the screens.

Prime dropped a servo onto Prowl’s shoulder. “Thank you. I appreciate your being willing to work with us in order to rebuild our world. I know it will not be easy, but it will be worth it. Beyond what is going on out there now, we can most certainly use your skills.”

Prowl didn’t reply merely watched the events unfolding on the screens. 

“There. Current trajectory has that ship heading away from the main group and towards the settlement,” Prowl said as he pointed at one of the smaller ships off to one side on a screen.

Soundwave nodded and his fingers flew over the console and now on the screen, two of their craft moved into position, blocking the intruder.

“Any signs of them powering up weapons?” Optimus asked.

“Negative.”

:Unless fired upon, do not fire on them. We have to give them the benefit of the doubt that they are unable to answer our hails,: Optimus said.

Megatron shook his helm at that but didn’t countermand it.

:What!: Starscream squawked over the channel. :What are we supposed to do then?:

:Keep them away from the settlement. Use our ships to herd them towards the landing field,: Megatron said and with a quick glance over at Prime added, :If they resist, fire a warning shot. If they fire upon you, then you have permission to open fire upon them.:

“More of our people could be in them!” Prime said.

“Then they better start talking to us. I’m not taking any chances with what we have built. For all we know, those are space pirates who heard our message and have come to take our home from us.”

“Failure to answer a hail has always been seen as a hostile action. I never thought I would be agreeing with him, but Megatron’s order is well within accepted parameters,” Prowl said.

A silver servo gently cupped one of the tiny frames held by Optimus.

“I, too, hope those are our people out there, but I will not take a chance - there is too much at stake in here.”

A single beam of laser fire streaked across the sky on one screen, not coming close enough to a ship to damage, but it did encourage the motley crew of vessels to turn in the direction of the open airfield on the outskirts of the city rather than face the cordon of crafts the residents had mounted to defend their home.

One by one the new arrivals dropped down to the ground, while the defenders maintained their position. On the screen, they watched as Starscream with a seeker on either side of him dropped down to the ground in front of the largest vessel.

:If they shoot -:

:No signs of surging energy on any vessel,: Soundwave said.

Starscream nodded, knowing that he was being closely monitored and turned his attention back to the largest ship in front of him. They waited a few more tense moments before a door on the hull slid open and out stepped a Cybertronian, a flyer if the wings jutting out from him were any indication.

“Starscream, why am I not surprised that you’re supposed peace only applied to your own?” 

Starscream’s smile was all teeth. “So nice you know who I am, but perhaps you should answer a hail, now and then, if you don’t wish to be shot at.”

The new arrival spun in a slow circle, plating shimmered like burnished gold in the light, but no brand marred any part of that gleaming surface.

“Where is your master? I want to talk to who is in charge.”

“Master? Technically, I am in control of the forces you see and just who are you?”

Several more mechs leaped down to join the golden flyer. 

“We were lead to believe that Optimus Prime and Megatron are leading -,” a servo waved towards the colony, “this group. I will only speak to them. Tell them I am Metalhawk and I speak for those they cast out of our home when they destroyed it. We have returned and we want it back.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I may have missed, and as always feedback is appreciated! 
> 
> Enjoy!


	3. Metalhawk

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Time units  
> Orbital cycle - 1 day  
> orn - 13 days  
> deca-cycle - 3 months

Starscream’s optics widened and he shook his head with a soft laugh and muttered to himself, “Well, this should be amusing.”

More and more of the returnees left their ships and begin to gather on the tarmac around their leader. Starscream executed a deep bow with a wild flourish of his hand to Metalhawk, “I’ll contact my _Masters_ immediately.”

Opening the general channel he said, :Well, the mech is named Metalhawk and he says he speaks for those who lost their homes due to the war and now they’ve come back to reclaim it.:

:What!: echoed across the channel.

:I’d like to see them try!:

:Enough!: Megatron barked over the channel. :We’ll deal with him.:

:Tell him we are on our way,: Optimus said.

The seeker’s focus shifted back towards the mech in front of him. “They are on their way now.”

“I find it odd that they weren’t out here with the rest of their people. Is there something else going on here that I should know about?”

“I’m sure they’ll be able to explain it much better than I could, after all I’m not in charge,” Starscream said and quickly threw a glare at the two seekers beside him effectively shutting them up before they could add anything.

Metalhawk’s helm tilted to one side as he studied the seeker in front of him. His optics narrowed, but before he could further question Starscream, a green portal whirled to life not far from where they stood. Two of some sort of mass produced model came through first followed by the silver frame that he had seen only from a distance before. A moment later, Prime followed him, at least he assumed it was based on the glimpses he could see of the mech. The four stopped for a moment and then the two largest frames turned to the smaller ones and conferred for a moment. By the time they turned forward again, more of their forces had gathered around their leaders swallowing what was going on back there. His optics narrowed in distrust at the rather obvious attempt at subterfuge by the two leaders as they finally made their way through the small crowd. 

“Prime, I have to say I’m rather disappointed that apparently you no longer lead from the front anymore,” Metalhawk said as the pair finally approached him.

The disdain coming from Megatron would have made a lesser mech tremble, but Metalhawk ignored the Warlord’s stare with a small flick of one wing. The Decepticon leader was known for his infamous temper and he wanted to show his followers exactly who they were dealing with.

“What would you know about leading from the front? You couldn’t even muster up enough courage to fight for what you believed in,” Megatron said with a sneer.

Metalhawk huffed a soft laugh as he shook his head. “Long ago I used to be an Autobot, but after one particularly brutal battle, I realized that the only way the war would end is if you two were deactivated, but that seemed like an impossible dream so I fled to find what peace I could on a remote planet - well, until I heard your message.”

Megatron flung his arms wide. “Well, I for one, am quite happy you are wrong; as you can see, we did it without having to die!”

“Megatron,” Optimus said as he laid a hand on one the silver mech’s arm before turning to the gold flyer. “Megatron and I have been ordered to keep out of combat if at all possible by our medics.” 

Metalhawk nodded. “Ah, the perils of leadership by brute force. Still recovering from the last ‘discussion’ you two had?”

The snort of laughter from the hulking brute was not what he expected, nor was Prime’s odd twitch. And then the strangled laughter grew which had the blue and red mech covering his face with one servo before finally reaching over to smack the silver helm next to him which did nothing but make the mech laugh harder. Their minions seemed to share in whatever Megatron found amusing as the lot of them were grinning like mad mechs right along with him. Truly, there was something odd going on here and he meant to discover just what it was.

Optimus pinned the Decepticon with a glare before muttering, “Not another word out of you.” 

Red optics widened when Prime gestured towards the back where they had left the two smaller mecha.

“No! Optimus, I don’t know any of them and I trust them even less than that!”

“What secret are you hiding?” Metalhawk asked. “A weapon of some sort?”

“No,” Prime said and he retracted his battle mask revealing a smile, “they are the reason for our peace and what we guard so diligently.”

The two dark blue ground based mechs he had seen arrive with the two leaders now approached and each of them held an impossibly small frame. He heard vents stutter and more than one gasp as his people recognized what they were seeing.

“Impossible! You expect me to believe that somehow your people have managed to create not just one, but two sparklings after being at war for so long!”

“Well, they sure as Pit aren’t scraplets,” Megatron said quietly enough that he only just barely picked it up.

“Those two,” Metalhawk said, “are their creators? How is that possible?”

Megatron scooped both little mechs into his servos before placing them on his shoulders and the smile he wore was rather vile, Metalhawk thought.

“They are twins, created by Optimus and I.”

His processor struggled to process that little tidbit as he stared at Prime. “So the war ended because you two bonded and then managed to create newsparks? That - seems impossible.”

A flash of uncertainty crossed Optimus’ face, so fast he nearly missed it.

“Not precisely - we are not bonded, but we did create the twins and in their creation we found a common goal to unite us once more.”

“And once more you would have us believe that an un-bonded pair of bots managed to create not just a newspark, but twin newsparks when everyone knows that only bonded pairs have ever - in the entire history of our people - created newsparks! Did you reframe some poor spark to create this illusion in order to control your people?” Metalhawk threw his hands up in the air and spun on his heel to face his people. More than a few of them seemed to believe in this impossible tale that Prime insisted on trying to feed him and shaking his helm he turned back towards the two leaders.

Megatron, the little ones still clinging to his neck cables, took a step towards him and he could see dark blue, nearly purple optics watching him warily from their perch. 

“They are exactly as Prime said they are and you are free to contact our medic; I’m sure Ratchet will be happy to yell you the truth. Enough about us though, care to explain why you failed to answer our hails?”

At that medic’s name, he could hear the whispered comments behind him. Ratchet might be a staunch supporter of Prime, but he also was renowned as a medic, one that put his patients first - always. Something else might be going on here, but even he knew that Ratchet would never agree to reframe an old spark in a sparkling frame. He swept one servo behind him to gesture at the motley collection of ships they had landed in.

“We went through an ion storm not long before we arrived in the system and we were unable to get any of our radios working by the time we reached our home. The few flyers among us had to go between ships in order to coordinate our approach. However, as fellow Cybertronians we expected to be greeted a little more welcoming than what we saw. You fired upon one of our ships!”

“How were we to know you weren’t marauders intent on causing us harm? Do you really expect it will only be Cybertronians that will return? Besides, it was a warning shot to keep you away from the main part of our city. We were taking no chances with our sparklings being there,” Megatron said.

Prime stepped up and with the tip of one finger stroked a tiny helm drawing a turn of the head and a smile from the sparkling.

“Surely you could have found a way to let us know you were not a threat? We cherish our peace and wish to keep it - for all of us.”

Metalhawk laced his hands behind his back and shook his helm. “Yes, peace for all - a grand idea, to be sure, but exactly how long do you think this will last? The longest ceasefire you two have managed before was less than an orn! I, for one, do not wish to rely on the supposed stability between you two for peace on my world!”

“You’ll be excited to hear then that they’ve managed to make it more than two deca-cycles so far this time!” Starscream said with a grin. 

Megatron groaned. “You’re not exactly helping there.”

“Everyone who joins us must agree to the terms we have lain down - everyone you see here is committed to making this work,” Optimus said.

The silver mech waved a servo at him before turning on his heel and walking away. “Stay or go, the choice is yours. Optimus, it’s time to take the twins back to the city.”

Ahead of him another energy vortex swirled to life and the big mech headed directly for it and many of their followers turned to follow him.

“Come with us, you will have twenty-four hours to decide -”

“Twenty-four hours? What is that?” Metalhawk asked even as he and his people followed the others towards what had to be a ground bridge portal.

“Sorry, we spent a lot of time on a planet in another system and we tend to use the time units of the inhabitants there, but it is basically one orbital cycle,” Optimus said. 

Prime shortened his steps so he could walk beside Metalhawk, “After that, if you chose not to stay with us, you will be free to go, but you will be on your own. Our priority will be with our settlement then should anyone attack you.”

In a matter of moments, he found himself in the middle of what he knew to be Protihex - but it was a version that looked like war had never touched it. He knew he looked like an idiot as he slowly circled around taking in what appeared to be pristine buildings standing tall against the sky. 

“How?”

“It looks like there was never a war even here!”

“How did you do so much in so little time?”

The questions poured out from his people, many of them ones he wanted to ask as well. Prime’s laugh was gentle and kind as his smile broadened.

“We found a way to restore our world, and together, our two armies have accomplished what you see. We have been busy restoring power to the buildings as soon as they have been checked. The wildlife of our world has been returning and sadly that includes scraplets so we have to check as we go.”

For once words failed him. This was not what he expected - a military camp with makeshift housing, yes, but not this, not a city restored. There had to be a catch.

“You mentioned terms - what sort of terms?”

He saw many of his people nodding along as they clustered around Prime. A mech pushed his way through the crowd with a box cradled in his arms.

“Prowl, excellent timing, I hope we have enough.”

“I grabbed every spare pad I could find. Please take one,” Prowl said before dropping the box at his pedes. “If there aren’t enough than please share with a friend.”

“A copy of the treaty our two sides agreed to is on each pad - there you can see what rules we have in place and where we want this to go,” Optimus said. “I will be available later for any questions or feel free to ask Prowl or one of the other advisors.”

Metalhawk could only watch as Prime moved to rejoin Megatron and together the two, still being trailed by the same two smaller mechs headed for what appeared to be a crystal garden. He turned his optics down to a pad someone had pushed into his servos. Primus, a real crystal garden, something he never thought he would see again, another casualty of a war that he never thought would end.

~+~+~

Spark twisting with the faint hope that these Cybertronians might accept what they had built, but the harsh words from Metalhawk still rang in his audials as Prime strode over to join the silver mech at the edge of the growing crystals. A few mechs were busy guiding the growing crystals such that little paths were beginning to take shape, but sadly, they were still too narrow for their large frames. He heard the urgent little beeps before he spotted servos pointing down once more.

“You stay with Ivan and Ping, Optimus and I can’t walk the paths yet so we have to wait here. And remember be gentle with the crystals, they are still growing and we don’t want them to be harmed, do we?”

Topspin and Twin Twist nodded their agreement and Megatron gently placed them down. Beaming a smile up at their creators they ventured into the crystals. Ping turned back to look at his leaders.

“We’ll keep a close optic on them, sirs. Especially since we have newcomers now.”

“I know,” Megatron said.

Together they watched the little party disappear into the little grove, every sound they made caused the crystals to resonate at different frequencies - that ‘singing’ was why crystal gardens had always been so highly prized.

Not taking his optics off the area where he last saw his sparklings, Optimus bumped his shoulder into Megatron’s. “I still find it hard to believe you laughed at that comment.”

Another low rumbling chuckle came from the silver mech. “You have to admit, it was funny. I mean the sparklings were the reason why we have to stay out of combat, so then that lead to the ‘discussion’ that leads to them - well, I thought it was funny anyway.”

“Of course you did,” Prime said with a shake of his head. 

A shaky ex-vent from Optimus had Megatron turning to watch the other mech. “What is it?”

“Is he right? Did I make the war last longer? Should I have tried to negotiate -” A digit in the middle of his chest stopped his questions and he raised his optics to stare at Megatron.

“Listen to me, Optimus. You can’t let that mechs words get to you. He doesn’t understand exactly what we went through or what we managed to do together.”

A long ex-vent left the former warlord and he turned away from Prime to gaze out at the crystals. “It is not easy to admit, but I can now see just how badly the dark energon had affected me, I would never had accepted a truce back then. No, the desire to destroy burned in my spark like a bright flame - fed by the whispers of Unicron. Pit, even if we had managed to kill each other, who knows what would have happened with Unicron. Who could have stood against him as we did? As much as I hate to say it, I have to thank Primus for freeing me from that god once and for all.” 

A brief flash of warmth from the Matrix had Optimus smiling. “Thank you, and I think Primus just said you are welcome.”

Prime twisted and gazed behind him at the city and for a moment he watched the recent arrivals walk around talking to whoever they found in their path. He turned back towards Megatron.

“This arrangement we have must seem very strange to those who just arrived - they would never have expected to find my mortal enemy now my partner.” Optimus glanced over and saw the silver helm nod slowly.

Megatron caught his optics and said, “They aren’t us, so long as we are content and the twins are thriving, then I don’t care what they think. I confess I never bothered to care to learn how the higher castes came together, that wasn’t who I was or wanted to be. In the mines and the arena, you found someone you wanted and approached them - after all, you never knew how long you might have.”

Optimus caught sight of the sparklings as they danced around one crystal, their tinkling laughter caused the crystals around them to chime their soft song back at them to their utter delight. This was what he had fought for, for so long and now it seemed impossible that it was all right here within his grasp, if he but dared to take it. 

“It is my wish that no one will ever have to live or love like that again, but I thank you for your support, it means a great deal to me.” The Matrix pulsed once more in his chassis and he knew his god supported him. “Perhaps it is time to gather the twins and return to our quarters and finish our discussion from earlier.”

Megatron’s smile bloomed across his face, a rare full one. “That sounds like an excellent idea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and as always feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!


	4. Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> As always feedback is encouraged and appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!

Optimus stood in front of the large window in the main living area; the privacy mode had been activated by Megatron as soon as they had stepped inside. He had to admit that it was nice to be able to watch without being watched. The twins were placed on the ground and they immediately scurried over to one of the smaller rooms. An inquisitive beep had both their creators looking over at the pair.

“Yes, you two may claim that room as your own,” Megatron said.

Delighted squeals came from the sparklings before they disappeared into the space. The other mech stepped up beside him, but Prime kept his gaze outward. All around them he could see the work groups going about their jobs while the new arrivals seemed intent on checking in every building they possibly could. In the twins bedroom, he could hear them chattering away, possibly destroying it based on the amount of noise coming from the room.

“You do realize that we will have to talk with them again, right?”

The ex-vent from the silver mech seemed to come from the very depth of his spark. “If I must, but it seems we already are tasked with collating all the reports. That should be punishment enough.”

Optimus chuckled and shook his head. “If you recall it was by order of the medics that we were relegated to reports only. At least Ratchet did not carry out his threat of bubblewrapping us and locking us in a room until the twins had been put in their adult frames.”

“You know, I didn’t ask at the time because Ratchet seemed a bit upset simply because I asked about doing some recon of a nearby mine, but what exactly does that mean?”

“Upset? I thought he was about to blow a gasket - yours to be precise. As for the other thing, the humans had these sheets of plastic with little pockets of air built in them, they used them to protect delicate things - that is what he threatened to wrap us in. I can hardly blame him though, if something happened to one of us, there is a very real chance the twins would perish as well and I, for one, would not wish to watch them fade away either.”

Megatron nodded. “That makes a little more sense then. I guess I should be thankful that you never decided to unleash him on me before by telling him something like that I was in dire need of an overhaul; truly, he can be scarier than Unicron himself.”

Prime’s mouth quirked upward as he glanced over at his companion. “I will be sure and tell him that.”

A smile crossed the former warlord’s face for a brief moment before turning serious once more. “I’m sure you will, but I think you are stalling now. Have you changed your mind on how you want to handle the newspark?”

Optimus shook his helm and drew in a shaky in-vent. “More I am worried -”

A hand on his arm stopped him from continuing and he turned his optics to watch his companion.

“Have you thought that maybe you are over thinking this? Has Primus given any indication that he doesn’t approve of your choice?”

Prime paused for a moment, but there was no response from the artifact resting in his chassis.

“That’s what I thought; maybe Primus simply was giving you a choice in case you would rather not have something else to tie you to me.”

That seemed too easy to Optimus and he felt the frame next to him stiffen at his silence. 

“The suite across the hall is still open, I can move over there and we can shuttle the twins between us, if that is what you prefer.”

Megatron spun on his heel and marched towards the door, anger and something else laced into his every movement.

“As Prime, I was told that I should be above such desires of the spark, that my function was to think only of my people and to shunt aside what I might want.”

The silver mech froze at those words and slowly turned around. “And we have already discussed just how badly your advisors have affected our lives before - they are gone, yet why do you let them still sway you?”

“Because I find that asking for what I want is hard,” Optimus said. Blue optics studied the red ones watching him closely, squaring his shoulders he plunged ahead with his thoughts. “And right now what I want is for our creations to have the chance to be anything, to do anything that they desire - for it to be their choice and theirs alone. That all of us have that choice regardless of origin.”

The tension in the silver frame eased and a smile erupted on his face. “That is all I want for them as well.”

Megatron cocked his helm and at the sudden silence coming from the room the twins had claimed, he stepped over to the door and slid it open as quietly as he could. His helm shook as he took in the sprawled abandon with which the twins had cast themselves into recharge, but yet still managed to end up close together. He shut the door as silently as he had opened it.

“It appears they have fallen into recharge, although I would prefer more time, at least let us do a quick merge and tonight we can enjoy ourselves more. I don’t want you to stress yourself when you start second guessing yourself again.”

Prime ex-vented softly and he shrugged his shoulders. “Perhaps I deserved that, but I have settled on this course. We will raise this one together alongside its siblings, Primus willing.”

“Good. When are you going to announce it?”

Optimus headed for the door to the largest berth room. “Not for awhile. I will tell a few select individuals, if I need to, but I wish to be selfish and keep it private for now.”

“If that is what you want, so be it, I will tell no one, though I would be shouting it from the square, if only to annoy Metalhawk,” Megatron said with a chuckle.

The two mechs looked at the berth and then glanced at each other. 

“Top?”

“Bottom?”

Another laugh left the silver mech, “Whatever is more comfortable for you.”

“Thank you, I will take the top then. Tell me if you see the newspark, the medics did not think to show me and I confess that I dearly would like to see it.”

“I will share with you what I see afterwards.”

Megatron sprawled onto the surface and watched as the red and blue frame carefully climbed on to the surface. He sent the order and his chest plates opened, revealing his spark. His arms were crisscrossed behind his head, angling his helm upward so he could see better. Optimus nodded and then his chassis split down the middle revealing the glow of the Matrix and the softer hue of his own spark. Their helms nearly collided as they both bent inward as they tried to spot the newspark. Prime ducked his head with a grin.

“Sorry.”

“Relax; we’ve done this more than a few times before.”

“I know, just this time -”

“Of course,” Megatron said as he let his helm fall back allowing Optimus to try and see into his own chest, an impossible thing but he wasn’t going to tell him that. Huffing in annoyance at the lack of flexibility in his frame, Prime slowly began lowering his chest towards the other mech. A short glimpse was all Megatron had, but that was all he needed as he spotted the tiny ball of energy as it surged towards his spark and then he was lost in the merge of their sparks. 

Relief, happiness and another sort of longing permeated the merge and it was often hard to tell whose feelings were which, but the connection between them was strong. Pleasure surged through the two sparks, although not enough for an overload, yet fans still whirred to life before the pair broke apart, chest plates closed once more. Prime sprawled across the silver frame and neither of them had any inclination to move.

Megatron tweaked one finial getting a grumble from the mech on top.

“Give me a moment.”

“You are fine where you are, I was more interested in seeing how coherent you were because I think you let more through during the merge than you meant to. I wondered if you would tell me what else was it that you desired.”

Metal rasped as Prime slid towards the wall while Megatron turned to face him.

“I should have realized you would pick up on that.” A soft ex-vent left Optimus. “You are right. There is something else that I would like. I have been thinking that perhaps we could formalize our relationship, the Matrix seems to prevent a spark bond, but we can still declare ourselves Conjunx Endura.”

Red optics narrowed at him. “Is this some sort of political maneuver to deal with what Metalhawk said earlier?” 

“I will admit that is an added plus, but no, that is not the only reason or even the main one. I confess I was flattered when you told me that you had grown fond of me and I feel the same. I want a real family, one that lasts longer than just the time it takes to put the twins in their adult frames, well, and now the newest one. This might have started out backwards - after all sparklings are supposed to come after a relationship has formed, but I think we can make this work. And it is true that no one will be able to question our resolve to working together then as well, but honestly that is secondary.”

Megatron’s mouth gaped open before snapping shut. “That was not what I expected you to say. Are you sure though? Conjunx is not lightly done nor is it lightly broken. Before you ask though, I am content to bind myself to you; there is no one else I hold in higher regard.”

Prime’s smile was wide and blue optics glowed brightly at Megatron.

“Quite sure, and to negate those who will assume we are doing it only for political reasons, I suggest we have a private ceremony and just update our records with as little fanfare as possible.”

Megatron nodded. “If that is what you wish, though I find it odd that a mech who has been a leader for so long, you are very private.”

Optimus hummed a moment. “Perhaps that is why I cherish those things that I can keep to myself.”

A search of his recent memory files had him locating the quick glimpse of the newspark he had had, and he quickly bundled the clip up and transmitted it to Prime.

“There. Now you can see it for yourself.”

Optimus nodded as he unpacked the file and replayed the short little clip; smiling as he caught sight of the tiny spark of life. Knowing they still had work to do, Prime began to shift his frame over the silver one with a soft groan, but was stopped by a hand holding him in place.

“Stay and relax while the twins are recharging. I’ll go start on the reports and deal with anyone who comes to our office.”

“I can assist,” Prime said as he tried to push against the arm holding him in.

“I know you can, but I also know that you will need more fuel soon and so will the twins when they come online. Take them to the dispensary and you can handle any of the newcomers that are there.”

He let his frame fall back onto the berth. “Thank you. I will see you later in our office then.”

Megatron grinned at him. “That you will. I’ll make sure to save some reports for you.”

Optimus’ laugh resonated around them both and Megatron brushed a hand over his cheek before he rolled off the berth.

“Don’t let any of them upset you, we’ve already proven ourselves against Unicron, whatever they try will be sparkling play compared to that.”

“When you put it like that,” Optimus said with a smile.

A simple nod from the silver mech and then he was gone. Optimus rolled onto his back and shuttered his optics. Perhaps a little recharge would be good as well, after all the sparklings would most assuredly come looking for him when they awoke.

“Now that is something I didn’t expect to see, somehow you managed to domesticate the Slagmaker himself!”

Prime shot upward and he clamped down on his surge of panic trying to shield the twins from it. Dimly he realized he had a blaster in hand which was pointed at the intruder, but at least he hadn’t fired it before his processor helpfully placed the voice as that of a friend. His optics spiraled wide at the frame lounging against the frame of the door wondering how he had made it into the room past Megatron. 

:Optimus, what is the matter? I felt your panic. Never mind, I’m on my way back.:

:No, no - it is alright. I was going to recharge when I had an unexpected visit from a friend that I had thought had returned to the well.:

:Are you sure?: Even over the channel he could hear the suspicion and worry in Megatron’s voice.

The red plating was scuffed and the gold visor glinted with amusement, but he had seen this disguise before and Prime shook his head and held up a hand to his friend while he continued talking to Megatron.

:It is Jazz so needless to say he startled me.:

:Oh, Primus, that menace is back? I don’t remember seeing him listed as any of the new arrivals.:

:He is in one of his many alternate identities. Everything is fine, do not worry.:

:If you are sure,: Megatron said with a soft grumble.

:I am.:

“Jazz, you nearly gave me a spark attack. How much did you hear?”

Mouth turned upward in a grin, Jazz sauntered over to the berth and flung himself down onto it.

“I heard everything. I have to agree with ol’ Megsy, announcing yet another newspark from you two would have Metalhead dropping a turbine!”

Rolling over, Prime engulfed his friend in a full body embrace.

“I thought you were dead!”

A muffled chuckle came from the smaller mech but he embraced his companion as best as he could. “Bah, I’m hard ta kill you know that! Primus are you that lonely that you want to take him as Conjunx? You should know by now we’ll follow you regardless of whatever it is you two have together.”

Optimus smiled and shifted off his friend. “I know, but this is really what I want. We need to get this paint off of you and introduce you properly to the twins. I can feel that they are awake now. I am afraid that jolt you gave me started them up as well.”

Jazz held up a hand. “Nah, I need to keep this for now. I wanna make sure everyone is gonna behave - we got a mix of former ‘cons and ‘bots with Metalhawk and I’m not trusting any of them as long as that mech has it in for you. As for the twins, well they can meet Ricochet for now. Speaking of that, if you get me put on as one of their guardians, I’ll be able to keep an optic on everyone and slip you intel as well when I have any. Yes, that would work well for me, plus I’ll get to play with the bitlets.”

Prime shook his helm. “The war is over, Jazz. Come home and play with them all you want.”

Jazz’s mouth flattened into a tight line and a determined glint lit his visor. “Not until I know for sure that everyone is gonna behave. I ain’t takin no chances now.”

“Soundwave is probably watching him already.”

One side of his lip ticked upward in another grin. “Sounders is good, but I’m better. Come on, OP - I need to do this. I promise I’ll come in when I’m sure everyone is onboard with your plans, which by the way are quite impressive.”

Seeing that his friend was adamant, Prime nodded. “Fine, let’s go find the twins and I can introduce you to them. You know, with three sparklings, Raoul really will need more help.”

Crimson plates flashed as the mech rolled off the berth with a grace that Prime could not match. He felt like a lumbering tank as he moved to follow his friend.

“Bah how much work can it be to watch after a few bitlets? This will be easy compared to some of the jobs I’ve had to do.”

Optimus shook his head with a smile. “Topspin has magnets in his pedes and servos just like you do and they are quite fast for their size. Most of the time they are quite well behaved but should something catch their optic, well, you will have your servos full.”

Jazz’s grin grew. “Oh, now see that sounds like my kind of fun. Oh, what adventures we will have!”

Optimus stopped and stared at his friend. “I am not so sure we should be letting you near the twins. I fear Megatron is not going to like this.”

Servo clasped against his chest, Jazz staggered against Optimus. “You wound me, OP! I’ll treat them like one of my own.”

“That is what worries me, Jazz.”

Jazz put a digit in front of his mouth. “Shh, none of that now - Ricochet is on the job.”

Jazz shifted his stance just slightly, frame sagging just a little - as if he was an older bot that had seen too much and gone was the mischief loving friend.

Shaking his helm at the ease with which his friend could shed his personality, Optimus strode over to the door. “Come on, Ricochet, let me introduce you to your charges and bring you to meet the rest of the team.”

He slid the door open and shouldn’t have been surprised to find the pair standing in the living room looking around. Spotting him, they let out a string of beeps as they ran to his side as if scolding him for hiding on them. Carefully lowering himself, he gathered them up in his arms before turning to Ricochet.

“Topspin and Twin Twist, I would like you to meet an old friend of mine, this is Ricochet. He has kindly agreed to help watch over you when Megatron and I cannot.”

Smiles lit the tiny faces and they pointed towards the ground.

“Key!”

“Key?”

“Yes, rather than call us creator, they call me Key and Megatron is Tor,” Optimus said as he lowered the pair down.

Once free, they ran over to Ricochet and held out their tiny hands at him. The red mech went down on one knee and mirrored their actions. Little servos grabbed one of his digits and shook it for all they were worth.

“That is an Earth greeting they have learned and use it to welcome all newcomers.”

Ricochet’s smile was wide and earnest as he gazed at the pair. “Pleasure to meet you both as well. Aren’t you two the clever little bitlets? And I like the individual names you’ve given your creators, breaking down the word into two parts - two halves of a whole.” Visor turned up to watch his Prime, Ricochet said, “I can see why the two of you are so protective of what you’ve built here.”

The twins turned their gaze back towards Optimus and he looked at them fondly. “Yes, we cherish what we have.”

The smaller mech climbed reluctantly to his feet. “Don’t you worry, Prime, nothing will happen to them while I’m on the job.”

Optimus placed a hand on Ricochet’s shoulder. “I know, old friend, I know. Now, I believe it is time for a little energon. Let me contact the rest of the team and have them meet us in their office and we can get you officially put on the roster.”

Prime sent a ping to Raoul and immediately got a response.

:Yes, Prime?:

:Could you gather up all your people and meet us in your office? And if you do not mind, perhaps some energon as well for everyone? I have someone new I would like for all of you to meet.:

:Of course, sir, I’ll notify Ping and Ivan to meet you at your building.:

:That is not necessary, we are heading directly for Command.:

:It’s already done, sir.:

:We will meet them at the entrance then. Thank you, Raoul.:

:My pleasure, sir.:

“Alright, it is all set. We will head to Raoul’s office over in the Command Center, which is part of the medical center. It seemed prudent to turn the large hospital complex into a more multi-functional building since that much space was not needed for medical facilities. At least not yet.”

Optimus scooped up the twins and then locked the door to their unit behind him before he gestured towards the staircase. Ricochet stepped into the lead as he headed down the stairs, helm twisting back and forth as the mech scanned for any danger. 

“I have to ask, how exactly did you guys manage to get so many buildings repaired so quickly? Metalhawk figures some of them have to be for show but he hasn’t been able to find them so far,” Ricochet said.

“An artifact of immense power, one that Soundwave has hidden the keys for at our request. We were surprised as well, at just how well it recreated the buildings that were lost in the war and we fear what it could do if it were to be unleashed on occupied areas.”

The red mech turned back for a moment. “I suggest you keep that knowledge close to your spark, that’s not something you want the population to know about.”

“Our two armies all know about it, they all witnessed its abilities and many of them helped operate it while we were revitalizing our world. However, it is impossible to operate without the four keys and we have taken great pains to keep them safe.”

“Good to know,” Ricochet said.

They stepped outside the building and two vehicons came to attention.

“Ivan, Ping - this is Ricochet, an old friend of mine.”

Ricochet gave the pair a smile and a nod. “Nice to meet you.”

The two glanced at each other before nodding at the newcomer. “You as well.”

“I have to ask, where did you come up with those names? They are very unusual,” Ricochet asked as they fell in behind Prime.

“We all picked names from Earth and we chose ones that matched the series we came from, I was from the P series so I chose Ping.”

“I’ve been hearing a lot about this Earth lately, I wish I could have seen it.”

Prime shook his head with a chuckle. “You might get that wish, there is a space bridge on it and a team of our people are still there. Megatron and I are the official liaisons with the indigenous species, called humans, there so we might be called on to return which means the twins as well.”

“I look forward to it!”

Their march towards the center of the colony remained unimpeded. Lots of mecha watched but something about the way Prime strode through the street kept them at bay. Whatever the reason, Optimus was grateful, he wanted to get his friend set up before he was pulled into dealing with questions from the other new arrivals. The halls were empty as the group made their way towards the wing containing the offices. 

As they drew near their destination, voices could be heard talking from an office that had the door wide open. Two vehicons stood near the one seated behind the desk.

“What’s going on, Raoul?”

“What I already told you, Dave - Prime has someone new to add to the roster.”

“Yes, but does that mean one of us is getting fired? Did somebody screw up?”

Optimus quickly moved into the office, an office that he could see was going to be a tight fit for all of them. 

“I am sorry, I did not mean to worry any of you. No one is getting removed; merely, I thought you would need more help - what I am about to tell you is only known by Megatron and the medics and that is how I want it kept for now.”

The vehicons in the room scrambled to attention.

“Of course, sir!”

Optimus’ mouth opened and shut as he realized he had failed to ask Ratchet how long it would take before the newspark would be ready to be framed. 

“I am carrying a newspark, and I just realized that I failed to remember to ask Ratchet how long until it will be framed, but that is why I wanted to add Ricochet to the roster.”

Smiles and cheers erupted in the small space and the twins added to the cacophony. Pats against his chest had him looking down and he had to smile as the twins patted his chest again and then placed their heads against it, obviously trying to hear the newspark.

“It will be a while yet before it develops the ability to project its emotions, but when it does I suspect you two will be able to feel it since I share with a bond with you as well. And in a few deca-cycles, you will have a new sibling.”

Optimus turned his optics to the gathered mecha. “Raoul, you are still in charge of this unit, but should an emergency arise, please listen to Ricochet, his skills are such that he will be the best chance of keeping yourselves and your charges alive.”

The five vehicons turned their visors to stare at the new mech. Ricochet grinned at their look. “Hey at least I fit in, what with the visor and all. But, honestly mechs, I have no experience with new sparks so I need to learn everything about them. Now combat, well, that I have experience with.”

“Of course, if Prime trusts you than you have ours as well,” Raoul said before turning to face Optimus. “Sir, perhaps we should open up applications again. Although Ricochet makes six of us now, I prefer to have one of us remain on duty here to help coordinate everyone since we are still getting new arrivals and we can’t take any chances.”

“So how does that work?” Ricochet said.

“Since we started getting arrivals all the time, I keep one of us on duty here to keep an optic on the team on duty, just in case. So two on, two off and one watching - but with the advent of a third sparkling we will need three on each shift while still having one here on the monitors," Raoul said.

The red mech nodded. “Good thinking. If you need another, I know of someone perfect for this - another neutral, if that isn’t a problem.”

Optimus shook his helm. “No, so long as they have signed the agreement and of course, if this is something they want to do. I would like to meet whoever you have in mind though.”

Ricochet’s smile widened. “Trust me, this mech will be bouncing off the walls to get a chance at this. I became friends with him and I think you will like him as well. Let me call him.”

“Please. I would like to have this all settled as soon as possible.”

Ricochet’s attention turned inward while he contacted his friend, after a moment he turned back towards the others with a grin. “He’s on his way and nearly blew out my audio receptors in his excitement, so I think we can safely say he will say yes if none of you have a problem with him.”

Only a few minutes had passed before the squealing of tires and the sound of an engine running at maximum capacity echoed in the hallway. Ricochet stuck his head out and waved at the incoming vehicle. Not bothering to stop, the vehicle shifted and broke apart turning into a small mech that nearly slid past the door. A hand from Ricochet stopped him from going too far.

“Thanks, Rico! This is so awesome! I was afraid I would have to do sanitation disposal, but a real sparkling watcher!”

The light blue and silver mech bounced on his pedes, but even that wasn’t enough to get him higher than Ricochet’s waist. Optimus smiled at the sheer joy that radiated from the mech before him even though the majority of his face was covered with what looked like a permanent mask, it didn’t stop the minibot from expressing how he felt.

“Ricochet, perhaps you should introduce your friend to us?”

“Right. Tailgate, this is Optimus Prime and that little one is Topspin and the other is his twin, Twin Twist and these are the other guardians - Raoul, Ivan, Ping, Dave and Brad.”

Optimus inclined his helm. “It is a pleasure to meet you, Tailgate. Ricochet speaks highly of you. Have you signed the treaty yet?”

The silver helm nodded eagerly. “Oh, yes, Rico told me that he was going to and so I did as well. Metalhawk thought we should have waited, but I didn’t see any point in it. We have our home back again and I knew I wanted to stay.”

Excited shrieks came from the pair in his arms and he could see their servos pointing at the new mech. He shook his head at what he guessed had them worked up. 

“Although he is small, he is an adult so you must obey him as you would any of your caretakers. He is not a sparkling.”

Tailgate’s shoulders lifted and dropped, but he didn’t stop bouncing. “It’s okay, that’s not the worst thing I’ve ever been called.”

Little helms shook and the pair pointed towards the ground. Prime realized then that perhaps the twins merely wanted to give him the proper greeting as they believed that to be their task.

“Ah, Megatron is correct, you really must learn to talk if you want to be easily understood. I think that they wish to welcome you to Cybertron as they have taken that to be their job.”

Light blue optics glowed brightly and Tailgate’s helm nodded eagerly. “Oh, that would be great! That’s an important job. I bet there will be a line for that!”

Mechs shifted about while chuckling as they made room so he could lower the pair down. Once released, the larger frames stayed still as the two sparklings raced over to the minibot and extended their hands. Tailgate cocked his head as he tried to figure out what the pair were doing.

“Offer your servo to them, it is a greeting from a planet called Earth.”

“Wow, they know a greeting from another world already!” Tailgate said as he offered a servo towards the pair.

Unlike everyone else they had met, he didn’t have to kneel to bring it down to their level. And his servo only slightly engulfed theirs as they each took a turn shaking it. Once that was finished, Twin Twist shifted over to the other side of the mech and latched onto Tailgate’s other hand while Topspin grabbed hold of the one closest to him. Grinning wildly, they turned to their creator and then pointed out the door and Optimus shook his head with a smile.

“Yes, he is short enough that you can hold his hand while you walk.”

“Really? You would want to walk with me?”

“You have to understand, Tailgate, they are not allowed to walk out on the streets because there is no way for them to hold onto any part of us while we walk so we have to carry them everywhere. They are only allowed to run about in certain designated areas,” Prime said.

“I would be honored, but I don’t think that would be safe as mecha are always almost running over me as it is.”

Smiles turned downward and the twins let go of the larger mech’s servo.

“You won’t be alone,” Raoul said. “The rest of your team would make sure no one can do such a thing. Most of us have gotten used to watching out for the twins and believe me, once they see that the twins are with you - no one will dare to be less than diligent about your personal space from now on.” He turned to Optimus, “I’ve already gotten several pings about the fact that the twins are late for their afternoon energon and mecha are getting concerned. Let him walk them there as a trial run and I’ll personally let both of you know how it went.”

Optimus nodded and he knew in his spark that he would let the twins have this chance; their desire for autonomy had been growing and he wanted to give them a chance to be like everyone else. At his nod, the pair grabbed a hold of Tailgate’s servos once more.

“You will listen to them and be vigilant for all of your safety for he could be harmed just like you if you are not careful, agreed?”

Topspin and Twin Twist waved at him and tugged on the mech with them as they walked into the hall. The entire team formed a perimeter around the much smaller trio and he smiled as he watched them walk proudly down the empty hall. The joy that surged over the bond with the sparklings only made him more determined than ever that his creations would have as many opportunities as he could give them. His private comm pinged and he opened the line.

:Don’t you worry, OP - ain’t no one so much as scuffing their plating,: Jazz growled over the comm.

:As always, I have faith in you, Jazz.:

He spotted cubes of energon stacked on the desk and grabbed several of them. Well, at least he could top up his tank while he worked and strode down the hall towards their office. Now he just had to explain to Megatron how Jazz and a minibot were the newest members of the group watching the twins, preferably without getting yelled at.


	5. Knowledge is Power

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I am liberally pulling ideas from other continuities in order to flesh out this world. The Prime cartoon just didn't give me enough to work with.
> 
> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Happy Valentine's Day!

The red and blue truck’s engine thrummed in delight as his tires flew over the pavement as he led a pack of sports cars around the road that lead to the outskirts of Protihex. It was early enough in the day that they were alone on the highway and he increased his speed once they reached a straightaway. A forlorn meep came from one sparkling who stared up through his windshield at the large flight frame that rode the currents above the small group. As if he knew he was being watched the flyer dipped and rolled causing Topspin to point longingly at his other creator. He knew Megatron had felt the sparklings emotion over the bond when he heard the mech’s voice come over their private channel.

:I told you that he would want to ride with me.:

:Of course he does, he sees you cavorting about. You were the one who did not want to pull anyone else away for our errand.:

:For this short of a trip, I thought it was unnecessary to have another flyer with us, but you didn’t want to take a chance without one. But I will stop trying to enjoy myself.:

Optimus huffed a soft laugh at the dry tone and humor from the other mech. It still amazed him sometimes at the gentleness from the other mech and that started another line of code about last night’s activities. Who could have guessed that the once terrifying Warlord would put all that energy to good use in the berth. And now that they knew that pleasure didn’t jolt the twins out of recharge. Well, there was always tonight, after all the newspark needed spark merges. Megatron swore that he could see the newspark still, but he wouldn’t be satisfied until Ratchet had checked him over. He was drawn out of his thoughts by the burst of speed from the silver flyer and he revved his engine further although he knew he couldn’t beat Megatron. Their entourage whooped happily as they sped along the road towards the newly restored archive. 

Megatron reached the building first and transformed back to root mode before the rest of the party arrived. Not much else was in use in the area so they were the only ones in this section. The truck pulled to a stop and Megatron opened the door and pulled out the twins. The flight frame waited as the other vehicles broke apart before they all strode into the building. 

“You know we could have used the archive up on the ship.”

“Yes, but then we would not have had an excuse to go for a drive, now would we?”

Megatron smiled. “Good point. It was nice even if it was a little short.”

The building echoed with the sound of heavy footfalls. No one else had entered the structure since Soundwave had downloaded a copy of the archives aboard the Nemesis down to here, even though it was open to all. Optimus headed for the main console while the rest of the little party found a large table to settle around. Megatron placed the twins on top of the surface along with a datapad for each of them while Raoul, Brad and Ricochet took up positions around the room.

“There now you have your own work to do while I begin on mine. See if you can write your name just like the example at the top.”

The answering beeps brought a smile to Prime’s face as he stared at the screen. Unspooling his data cable, he plugged into the mainframe and began searching for the information he needed.

“What exactly are you looking for?” Megatron asked.

Optimus glanced over his shoulder. “We both know just how badly the Senate corrupted everything they touched; I am wondering if they did the same thing with the Conjunx ceremonies. All the ones I witnessed seemed excessive to me, so I am hoping to find a simpler version for us to use.”

Prime’s head shook when he heard more than one engine stutter. At this rate, the cadre of sparkling guardians were going to be the best informed of all their people.

“Excuse me, sir, but did I hear that correctly?” Raoul asked.

“You did -”

“Yes! Finally, a reason for another party!” Brad said as he pumped his fist into the air.

Megatron snorted a soft laugh and nodded towards Prime. 

“I am sorry, but there will not be a party. Again, we are keeping this private,” Optimus said with a shake of his helm.

More than one groan met that statement and he turned back to searching through the vast stored knowledge of the database. 

“He’s killing me,” Brad said softly.

“I feel your pain, mech,” Ricochet said with a nod.

Smothering a soft laugh, Optimus said, “When the newspark is framed, I am sure there will be a party then. Although, I thought I read that someone had applied to open a bar, that former racer, Blurr, correct?”

“Well, yes, but he’s not open yet. He’s still getting supplies and lining up entertainment, although that is giving everyone time to find stuff to barter with.”

“That will be an impressive party when he does,” Ricochet said with a grin. 

Returning his focus back to the console, he found the section he needed and began sorting through the data. Useless information on popular spots and other things nearly had him shutting down the search and giving up, but then something caught his attention - deep inside a folder on favorite plating decorations he found another folder, but this one lacked any sort of identification. Curious, he opened it and found that the information within it all had been tagged with the glyphs for deletion, but some long ago archivist had instead hidden the files in this obscure section. Each file had a number, but no other indication of what they actually contained so he decided to start with the first one. His optics spiraled wide at what he found.

“Primus,” Optimus said. The word came out barely as a gasp as the information he had found triggered more than one line of recrimination against himself and against long dead mecha. He struggled to keep his emotions under control, but he knew he had failed when he heard a chair get flung aside.

“Optimus! What is the matter?”

“Key!”

His helm dropped to his chest and he shuttered his optics. “I am sorry, I did not mean to upset everyone. I should not be surprised, but I had no idea -”

The warmth of a war-frame against his back had him yearning to lean back into it - something solid to anchor him as he lifted his head and continued to click through the files.

“What did you find?”

“I now know why the Senate told me what they did when I first came online as Prime.”

Strong servos pulled him around and he found himself staring into red optics. “That is on them, may they rust in Unicron’s grasp forever. You trusted them and what with the Matrix creating you from Orion, you did what you thought you had to.”

Prime nodded. “I know, but I was harsh to you and I know why now. They feared us and they took advantage of the fact that I seemed to have little memory of my time as Orion.”

Megatron’s smile was brittle. “Of course they feared us.”

He shook his head and pointed back at the console. “No, more than just that - they told me that your attentions to Orion were unwanted and that I needed to put a stop to it now that I was Prime. That was why I said those things to you. But the truth was that they feared I would take up with you once I remembered and they did not want me choosing a consort on my own. I remember that at one point they did offer to appoint one for me, but I told them with a war just starting I did not need the difficulty of trying to start a relationship with whoever they chose.”

“Consort? I thought you said that Primes were supposed to be above all that.” Megatron said as he moved to stand in front of the console and his servos clenched at what he read and his engine thrummed with anger. “I would kill them all again if I could.”

“What did you find? I’m confused here.” Ricochet said. The only one of the entourage who seemed willing to dare Megatron’s wrath walked closer to the pair.

Megatron’s voice rang out in the area as he read.

“The first Prime that arose after the Matrix of Leadership was found declared himself to be Alpha Prime and he quickly became known as the voice of the people. Everyone rejoiced when he found a kindred spark and took a Conjunx. His consort came to be known as Lord High Protector as he was prone to try to shield his mate from the machinations of the newly formed Senate. Together they were more than a match for them and they kept the Senate in check and were beloved by the all of Cybertron.”

“Oh! Wait! What? Go back, I’m confused here. What did Megatron mean about you being created by the Matrix?” Ricochet peered at Megatron and then over at Optimus.

“Yes, the Matrix revealed to me that Optimus was created after the last few Primes failed to listen to Primus and as usual his interference fragged everything up! If he had left Orion alone -”

Optimus nodded. “It is a cascade of mistakes that cumulated in the war, but the chain was started by the Senate and their desire to hold onto their power base.”

Gold visor narrowed until it was a thin line as it watched the two leaders. “Except if they feared Orion hooking up with Megatron, then why give him the Matrix in the first place?”

“The Matrix chooses who is to be the next Prime, that they couldn’t control, but every newly minted Prime suffers from confusion as new subroutines and programs take over and that period of time is when they took advantage of me. I often wondered why they failed to have anyone I knew there to ease the transition, well besides Alpha Trion that is, and he did not look favorably on Megatronus. I trusted the datapads full of lies that I was given. When I was told to act on them and in my desire to stop what I was told was only a mild insurrection - instead I started the war that would destroy our world.”

Megatron snarled and the sight of the twins clutching each other as tremors shook their tiny frames shook him out of the fog of hate that had claimed him. He scooped them up and rumbled softly trying to calm them.

“I am sorry little ones, we did not mean to distress you so. We are not mad at you, but at bad mechs from long ago.”

Still holding the twins close with one arm, he draped the other one onto Prime’s shoulder. “Again I say, you have the least amount of blame - and with what you found, well, we can do nothing but move forward.”

Ricochet shook his helm. “Actually, Ratchet and I tried to be there when we found out that Orion had been chosen. We were shut out. Told the professionals would guide you when you came back online and that we would be in the way. Hatchet gave them an audial full but we were forcefully escorted away. I guess we should have tried harder. I’m sorry, Optimus.”

Optimus gave Megatron a sad smile as he ran a digit over the helms of the twins. Turning to his friend, he placed one large servo on Ricochet’s shoulder.

“I am sure you both tried. Thank you for that. It is good to know that someone wanted to be there for me - him - us. Even I am finding it confusing. I cannot access personal files from him, his relationship with Megatron he kept partitioned away, hidden deep for his safety and Megatron’s. That is why I did not realize what I said was so hateful.”

The last few files called to him and Prime returned to the console and resumed reading. He wondered who had saved this data, but there was no way to tell from what was in front of him. Faintly, he heard Megatron pacing behind him as he finally finished all of the files. Optics bright with anger he turned to the group.

“Some archivist hid this data because someone wanted it deleted. I have no way of knowing who, but I hope they are with Primus now. What I have learned is this - after the first few Primes and their chosen consort proved to be powers in their own right, the Senate took steps to counter their power. They enacted legislation while they waited for the third Prime to be found. They decided that the position of consort to the Prime held too much power therefore it was a political position so it fell under their jurisdiction.”

“Oh that is some serious -” Ricochet began but stopped at the warning glare from Optimus. “ly messed up - uh - stuff.”

“Yes, it is. The third Prime - Nova Prime, hated who they chose and their fighting began the decline of our world. After that fiasco, Primes were encouraged to remain celibate above desires of the spark, but that did not stop other problems from arising as they too tried to increase their power base which then led to Primus stepping in. What a mess.”

“That’s good to know, but doesn’t really mean much now,” Ricochet said with a shrug of his shoulders.

Optimus pulled himself to his full height. “It means a great deal to me. I now know that I have every right to pick a consort of my own and that no one can bring forth a claim that I am violating tradition by doing so. I will leave the files as they are just so no one can say that I created them. The timestamp on them and the fact that they were hidden should be proof enough.”

“Not for some bots,” Ricochet muttered.

Megatron nodded at the smaller mech’s words. “Did you at least find what you where looking for?”

Blue optics blazed as Optimus strode towards the table. “Not really. After I found that information about those first few Primes and their consorts, I had hoped to find something more specific but all there is about them is reduced to what is in that hidden file. However, I do have some ideas that we can go over later, but we should leave now. I do not wish to be late for my appointment with Ratchet. That would not be pleasant.”

~+~+~

Gold helm casually turned to the right and left, taking in as much as possible as he walked. Pristine buildings were all he could see as far as the optic reached. He had searched dozens of the structures as well and found them to be just as new looking on the inside as the outside. And that was impossible. He knew what the planet had looked like from his last look of it; in fact he had pulled up the file to remind himself of what the truth should look like and still his optics told a different story. His closest friend and confidante kept pace with him, unlike his obliteration of the badge he once wore, Zetca had only raked out the majority of the Autobot badge leaving behind an angry mark marring his shoulder.

“How have they managed to do this? I just can’t figure it out. The buildings aren’t fake, but yet there hasn’t been enough time for them to restore all the buildings to this condition!”

Zetca’s helm nodded in time with his friends rant. “I can’t explain it either, even the buildings not in use are in pristine condition and the only thing wrong with them is the lack of power. I asked someone I knew who remained with the Autobots and he just gave me a grin and said that Primus gave them the means to do it. What a load of slag.”

“Agreed.”

Broad shoulder plates flashed in the sun bringing the pair’s attention as a third mech stalked towards them. They nodded to the new arrival and he fell into step on the other side of the gold flyer.

“Were you able to find anything out, Sky-Byte?” Metalhawk asked.

Red optics shuttered before he shook his helm. “Not unless you count impossible stories. The slaggers all laughed when I asked for details.”

Zetca peered around the mech in the middle. “I got the same thing. And our solar cycle is nearly up. Are we going to stay?”

Metalhawk stopped and turned to face his friend. “I know the majority of our people have already signed to stay on, it is our duty to stay as well and protect them. None of them can see that this place is too good to be true. We have to find out what is the truth here.”

Blue optics narrowed at Metalhawk. “I left the Autobots because I wasn’t going to serve some mech that called himself Prime, so I’m not aiming to do so now. Why don’t we go start our own colony instead?”

A smile lit the flyer’s face. “Everyone returning will head towards the largest settlement, which is this one. If we are to prevent those here from destroying our world again then we need to neutralize that threat.”

Zetca shook his helm. “Not that I’m opposed to what you are saying, although there might be more of us, however, they have that damned warship floating above - unless we take it then they will decimate us with that.”

Metalhawk paused and glanced up into the sky. Far above them he could just pick out the _Nemesis_ as it glided through the sky keeping pace with the rotating planet.

“I have no intention of starting another war if I can avoid it. Instead we are going to use their treaty against them in order to protect Cybertron from those who destroyed it the first time. We call for elections now and get our own in power and then we can ensure that those who destroyed Cybertron before can never destroy our world again.”


	6. Plans

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay and be warned that updates will probably become more sporadic but hopefully won't stop all togther. 
> 
> Time units  
> Stellar cycle - 1 year  
> orn - 13 days

The medic bustled about the room, carefully positioning any possible tool that might be needed, however, he was alone in this task as the rest of the on-duty personnel had already been shooed out at the truck-formers request. Optimus had made the appointment, but he had been a little surprised when the entire family had tramped inside. The twins beeped and waved at him as Megatron walked past while Ratchet motioned Prime towards the exam table. 

He smiled at the pair. “Hello Topspin and Twin Twist, keeping your creators busy today?”

Megatron snorted as he took up a spot off to one side. “When don’t they?”

The medic laughed, “That’s what I like to hear.” Turning, he faced Prime. “Is everything okay, Optimus? I won’t need to see you daily, for at least a month or so.” 

“I believe so, I -” Optimus began. Although Megatron had assured him he had seen the newspark last night during their merge, fear still clung to him that Primus would strip that new life away as quickly as it had been given to him.

Sparklings clutched at the wide shoulders they rode on as Megatron strode closer to the exam table and laid a servo on Prime’s arm. At that gentle reassurance, Optimus relaxed.

“I confess I just need you to confirm that everything is normal. I would not be averse to seeing it with my own optics as well.”

One optic ridge lifted but Ratchet only nodded. “Of course, is it okay if I bring back everyone else then? At the rate that everyone is pairing up and trying to repeat what you two did - Knock Out and I will be overwhelmed with caring for mecha with newsparks.”

“There are no medical personnel that arrived with Metalhawk?” Megatron asked.

Ratchet’s optics shifted to take in the large mech whose disdain had been laced through every syllable of the name that he had just said. It was good to know that he wasn’t the only one who didn’t like that fragger - idiot had the nerve to question him about the origin of the sparklings.

“Only one has come forward so far. Don’t know him well enough to trust him alone with my patients yet, but he seems competent enough. And he is willing to help train our last few medical recruits, but it is up to you if you want to bring him in as well.”

Optimus shuttered his optics before nodding. “Bring them all back. You would think I would be more used to having people staring at my spark chamber what with the Matrix in there, but I still find it unnerving.”

Megatron’s bark of a laugh had him peering up at his partner and found a grin across that face.

“Trust me, after awhile, you’ll get used to everyone peering intently into your chest. I know I did. I even got used to a sworn enemy doing it.”

Laughing softly, Optimus smiled and allowed his back struts to relax a little more into the berth. “Yes, I suppose that would have been unnerving for you. Thank you for that.”

Megatron gave him a nod before turning his gaze towards the door as it slid open and the three mechs in question strode inside.

“What do you need, Ratchet?” the new medic asked. Although he had a similar color scheme, his frame was far more slender than Ratchet’s.

“Ambulon, I’m sure you recognize Optimus Prime and Megatron. And I remember you said you’ve dealt with sparklings before, but do you have any experience with newsparks?”

Gold optics spiraled wide. “But -” One white hand waved at the twins, but no more coherent words came forth.

“Trust me, I’ll be personally wielding their chestplates shut after this one is framed. At least it isn’t Megatron carrying it this time - his spark is still recovering from the all the stress from the twins.”

Optimus shot upwards nearly vaulting off the table. “Merging with me for this newspark will not harm his spark, will it?”

Ratchet stopped him with a hand against his windshield, and gently pushed Prime back until he lay once more on the exam table. “We’ll be checking that just as soon as we check both your spark and the little one around it.”

“My spark is strong and I feel fine. Nothing but returning to the Well will stop me from providing for this new one as well,” Megatron said and there was a heavy rumble from his engine with every word. 

Ratchet rolled his optics and rapped a knuckle on the grey mech’s chest. “Settle down there. I’ll be the judge of that, but I suspect you are right. Ambulon?”

The new medic had taken a few steps backwards and looked as if he was going to bolt out the door.

“I don’t think I can do this, Ratchet. I’ll go -”

The silver mech stared at the medic before he shook his head. “Former Decepticon?”

Ambulon’s mouth opened and closed but finally he gave a curt nod.

“I can always tell. Autobots stand near me as if to prove they aren’t afraid while those who left my cause do the opposite. It matters not. We all gave up our respective factions to start over, so I have no quarrel with you so long as you abide by the treaty. After all, it is up to Optimus who cares for him.”

Ambulon’s pedes shifted and his frame relaxed just a little. “I’ll stay then. And no, I haven’t dealt with newsparks at all so I want to learn everything I can.”

Ratchet gave him a quick smile. “Good, because you’ll be the only certified medic on duty until Knock Out gets back with his team.”

“What?” echoed around the room from the numerous individuals.

Ratchet held up one hand and the room dropped into silence. “I finally finished the last part I need to repair Bumblebee’s vocalizer and I’m going to catch a ride with the supply shipment going out today to Earth. I should be back in a day or two if everything goes well. And Knock Out is out hunting down sparkling frames so you can contact him if there is an emergency and Soundwave can bridge him back if needed.”

“I don’t remember seeing anything about him going out on this morning’s briefing,” Megatron said.

“It was put down as a medical supply run by medical personnel, I just didn’t put down any exact destination. Nice and vague so no one would know who or why they were going. Now open up, Optimus and we’ll take a look at how things are going. Sam, go grab the mirror.”

Cycling his optics, Optimus nodded before his chestplates began the process of revealing his inner workings. Armor shifted and folded until the glow of the Matrix flared momentarily before it dulled back down. 

“Optimus?” Ratchet asked. The wand held in his servo wavered for a moment.

“I am not sure. It seemed concerned for a moment, but it is quiet again.”

“Primus, I hate when it starts acting up,” Ratchet muttered to himself. 

Ambulon’s gaze shifted between Ratchet and their patient. “Does that happen often?”

“Thankfully, no, but the Matrix does interfere with many external scans so you often have to use other methods to diagnose Prime.”

“Good to know,” Ambulon said with a nod.

Instrument in hand, Ratchet took a step towards the exam table and quickly realized that although he could see the parent spark, the newspark was no where to be seen. He gestured towards the other side of Prime.

“Megatron, step over there. Let’s see if the little one will turn toward you because right now it’s hiding. As the bond develops, movement of the co-creator can help position the newspark so you can examine it easier,” Ratchet said and at the other medic’s nod, he turned his optics back toward his patient.

Optimus stilled under his watchful gaze and he patted one shoulder. “The Matrix makes it hard enough to get a reading of your spark, never mind a tiny newspark so don’t jump to any conclusions yet.”

The former Decepticon shifted over to the indicated position along with taking a few steps closer to the table. The twins clung to the spikes on his shoulders as they hung out as far as they could in an attempt to spot their sibling.

“Get as close as you can. This early it won’t be as responsive as when as it has formed a bond with you.”

Megatron nodded before picking the twins off his armor and holding them in his servos, just in case. He lowered himself until his chest hovered just off to one side of Optimus. It was an ungainly position to hold but he held it. His reward was the tiny ball of energy that peeked out from behind the bigger spark.

“And there it is!” Ratchet said with a grin.

Excited squeals came from the sparklings as they pointed at the newspark.

“Yes, that will be your sibling,” Megatron said as he made sure to hold onto the pair as they leaned over the edge of his hand.

“Excellent! That’s good that it recognizes your spark energy already. Sam, angle the mirror so Optimus can see it while I take a reading,” Ratchet said.

He hummed as he took in the data the instrument fed back to him.

“It’s energy level is higher than yesterday which is good. Merged last night?”

“Yes,” Optimus said although his optics remained fixated on watching the tiny ember of life as it hovered around his spark.

“Good. Your spark is reading well within normal parameters as well, so overall I think you are both doing fine. Now, it’s Megatron’s turn to get scanned.”

The silver mech shook his helm but handed the twins to Optimus as he took the other’s spot on the berth. He had barely opened his chest when Ratchet was right there with his instrument. As soon as the medic gave him a nod, he allowed his chassis to shut once more.

“Yes, your spark is doing just fine and no, Optimus, merges won’t strain his spark so just keep doing what you are doing. Now, I’ll leave you four in Ambulon’s hands while I go gather my equipment and head up to the ship for transport.”

“Wait!” Optimus said before the medic made it out the door. “I would like to know how long until the newspark needs to be framed.”

Ratchet stopped in the door frame and glanced back at the room full of mecha. “You’ve got at least three months yet - more or less. Don’t worry, if we don’t find a frame we will be able to build one for it now that we have the proper materials. Now I really have to go if I’m going to make the transfer.”

Ambulon turned towards the pair. “Uh, I guess I should give the twins a quick check while you have them here.”

“Of course,” Optimus said with a smile as he placed the pair down on the berth now that Megatron had vacated it. 

He could do this, Ambulon thought to himself as he stepped towards the pair and couldn’t stop the smile as the twins each held out a hand to him.

“Thank you, but I don’t need to see your servos right now.”

“You misunderstand them. They are offering you a greeting,” Megatron said. “Topspin - Twin Twist, this is Ambulon, a medic like Ratchet so you must do as he asks. Now, you let them grab your hand and shake it.”

Amusement lit his optics as the pair attempted to move his hand, but he only nodded gravely to the twins.

“Ah, I see. Well, thank you, it is nice to meet you as well.”

The amused smiles from the other adults in the room indicated this was a common thing for the little ones. Perhaps Metalhawk was wrong and peace was truly possible among the people here.

~+~+~

“Where are they?”

The voice was one that Prowl had heard too frequently recently and he turned away from the display and his optics narrowed as he took in the three mechs standing in the hall outside of his office.

“You’ll have to be more specific than that.”

“Optimus and Megatron. They are supposed to be in their office by now,” Metalhawk said as he gestured down the corridor towards their office.

“They should be back soon, they put in for some personal time after this morning’s meeting. Shall I contact you when they return?”

“We will wait,” Metalhawk said.

The thud of heavy footsteps echoed down the hallway and Zetca nodded as the imposing figures of Megatron and Optimus came around the corner followed by their entourage.

“Here they come now,” Zetca said. “Primus, it’s like some sort of weird parade.”

The two larger bots walked in front, but behind the legs of the taller bots Tailgate’s squarish frame could be picked out along with two vehicons. The sparklings rode in Optimus’ arms this time. Crimson optics narrowed and Megatron motioned towards where Metalhawk and his comrades waited.

“Looks like we have work waiting for us.”

“Yes, I see that,” Optimus said before he turned around to face those behind him and placed the twins down on the ground. “Go with your guardians and we will meet up with you later.”

Happy chirps could be heard as Tailgate grasped the twin’s hands while the vehicons took up positions both in front and in back of the odd little group as they marched off in a different direction. 

“Key! Tor!” the pair exclaimed with a wave back at them as they walked away with their caretakers.

They returned the wave before turning to the three mechs waiting for them. They formed a line as if trying to block them and Megatron thought that was a tempting target. Optimus must have picked up on his thoughts because he laid a servo on his arm before he tried to bull his way past them.

“Is there a problem?” Optimus asked.

“Yes, you two even remotely involved with the governing of what remains of our people,” Metalhawk said. One digit pointed at Megatron’s helm as if for emphasis.

The former gladiator’s smile widened showing sharpened denta. “Well, since I haven’t heard that you officially joined us, I would say that isn’t your problem.”

A datapad was pulled out of the flyer’s subspace and held out to him.

“It is now.”

Optimus took the device and powered it up long enough to see the signatures of the three mechs before them.

“I am glad you have decided to remain here, Cybertron needs all of her people now.”

“Agreed, and to that end - it’s time to put a civilian government in charge just as your treaty states,” Metalhawk said. “Something that in my opinion should have happened sooner.”

Megatron pushed past the smaller mechs and waited for Optimus to join him. He glanced over his shoulder when Prime stayed where he was.

“With new arrivals coming nearly daily, it seemed prudent to wait until that tide slowed down,” Optimus said.

“Many of our soldiers are still unaccounted for - this is what they fought for and I wouldn’t want for them to loose the chance to have a say in the government of our world.”

The golden flyer shook his helm. “Just how many of them do you think survived? I dare say that more of them joined us than what still exists in either of your two supposed armies!”

The quick pang of regret he felt over the bond from Optimus had Megatron’s engine revving a low warning. Metalhawk merely sneered at that.

“That hit a little too close to the truth for you?”

Before he could retort, Optimus blocked him. “We will make an announcement tomorrow to begin the process. There is a team on Earth still and we will need to make sure that they have a chance to participate.”

“Of course. The treaty laid out for an orn for candidates to put in an application; will you be able to retrieve them before that time is up?”

“The supply run to Earth has already left for today, but we can hail them through the _Nemesis_ and make sure that they can return if they wish to run for either the Leader of Cybertron or one of the Council seats.”

The smile on Metalhawk’s face brought a strong wave of dislike through Megatron’s processor but he strove to keep a bland demeanor in place.

“Excellent, we look forward to beginning the proceedings for put a proper government in place.”

Without another word, the three neutrals strode off leaving Optimus and Megatron standing in the corridor. 

“I don’t trust that mech.”

“I truly believe he thinks he knows what is best for Cybertron-”

“You are far too trusting, Optimus.”

A soft laugh came from the red and blue mech. “So I have been told before. Think of this as an opportunity to free us up to spend more time with the twins.”

“Well, when you put it that way, it might not be so bad. Let’s go start on our mountain of reports. By Primus, I won’t miss that!”

“Me either," Prime said and his laugh joined Megatron's as they walked down the hall. Already he felt lighter in spark than he had in a long time. 


	7. Allies?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> After the divider there is a touch of smut just as a FYI. Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> Enjoy!

The door slid open with a faint hiss. The lights in his quarters were off as he had left it, however, the soft glow of a visor illuminated the area enough that the faint outline of a mech lounging on his couch could be seen - that was most assuredly not there when he departed this morning. There was only one individual that he believed could have breached his sanctuary. He inclined his head towards the figure.

“Jazz.”

“Aww, Sounders you figured me out. What gave it away?”

He stepped into his apartment and let the door shut behind him. He sent the command to lock it and moved over to the console to ensure that his ‘guest’ hadn’t disabled any of his other safety measures.

“Still a mech of few words I see.”

He canted his helm over to find his rival and frequent pain in the aft grinning at him. He shook his head and finished the scan of his rooms. Satisfied that nothing else was amiss besides the fact that the head of the former Autobots spec ops was sitting in his living area, Soundwave swiveled around to face Jazz. He knew that the other mech had moved, not by hearing him but by the faintest movement of air that the sensor panels along his back had picked up. Sure enough, Jazz stood directly behind him now, but the grin had been replaced with a grim expression. He had to manually override the battle protocols that wanted to come online, but he knew that if Jazz had been waiting for him then he hadn’t come to try and assassinate him, at least not yet.

“Query: Reason for intrusion.”

“None of my best agents are here yet, okay, none of them are here and Primus only knows when or if they ever will. So it’s up to the two of us to ensure that any threats to the peace that our leaders have forged are neutralized. I ain’t allowing Metalhawk or anyone else that gets it into their processor to think that they can threaten those under my protection and survive. And hard to believe as it is, that now seems to include your leader. What have ya got on Metalhawk and his minions so far?”

Soundwave gave a quick nod before turning his attention back to the console. His fingers flew over the controls and after a moment he turned towards the red mech with a datachip in hand. Jazz studied the tiny thing for a moment before plugging it into a special slot in his arm. His visor dimmed as he watched the surveillance on it.

“Oh, that doesn’t sound good - frag it all, we don’t have much time. If you can let me know old Metalhead’s schedule, I’ll pay him a visit and that will be the end of that problem!”

“Negative.”

The visor narrowed into an angry line and the mouth quickly began forming a snarl. “What is your fraggin problem? We need to do something, or is that the problem - you won’t work with me?”

“Negative. Solution: not acceptable. Soundwave: assumption of guilt. Optimus Prime: disapproval of tactic.”

One hand waved in the air now and behind his mask, Soundwave watched the saboteur stalk about his quarters.

“Well of course, he wouldn’t like it, but we have to protect the stupid slagger from himself if needed!”

Soundwave inclined his helm. “Agreed. Suggestion: Jazz becomes optics on the Council.”

The smaller mech stopped mid-step and swung around to stare at Soundwave. “How am I supposed to do that, I still have sparkling duty!”

“Resignation of leaders will end need for sparkling watchers. Ricochet: elected to Council.”

“What! Why not you? You are already serving on it now!”

“Soundwave: feared.”

“Okay, you got me there, but surely we can find someone else we can trust who can get elected besides me!”

Behind his mask, Soundwave grinned. He’d never expected Jazz to react like this. “Negative. Ricochet: trusted by neutrals. Ricochet: best chance to get elected. Neutrals significantly outnumber either former Autobots or Decepticons. Unlikely to find anyone either side will agree on that is not Megatron or Prime.”

“And neither of them want to stay in charge,” Jazz said with a shake of his head. His visor turned toward Soundwave and a finger pointed angrily at him, “You’re just plain evil, mech. I’ve had to do some rather nasty things, but becoming a politician has to be a new personal low.”

The grimace on his former rival’s face had Soundwave’s frame trembling with the effort to hold in his laughter. He ejected Laserbeak as a diversion from his struggle and walked over to a cabinet and pulled out the energon goodies he had made the day before. His symbiote swooped down and landed beside the container on the table.

:Soundwave?:

:It’s alright, dear one. We will be working closely with him. You’ll have to watch for him just as you do me, if that is alright.:

:If I have to.:

:He is important in order to keep the twins safe.:

:Oh. In that case should I share our channel with him?:

:Make a new one with him, if you are comfortable with that.:

He tossed one to the little flyer who nimbly caught it in mid-air before flitting off. He carefully pulled a few out and placed them on a dish before turning towards Jazz with the plate and nodded at his ‘guest’.

The red mech’s helm canted to one side as he studied the plate and the much taller flyer.

“What game are you playing at now?”

“No game. Truce.”

“Fine. Truce it is then. But I like to see who I am dining with.”

His spark thrummed faster in his chassis, but his free hand slowly inched towards his mask and with a quick command it popped free and he pulled it off. He laid it carefully on the nearby table. Laserbeak zoomed back in and chirped encouragingly at him and he smiled as he felt the love pour across their bond to him. He hadn’t shown his face to anyone since Megatron had helped him put the visor on many millennia ago. Starting over had been something he had desperately wanted to do, and perhaps this was the push he needed to take that first step. He turned back towards Jazz and grabbed one of the treats and popped it into his mouth. The other mech grinned at him and followed suit.

“Mmmm these are quite good and I never understood why you wore that thing all the time, trust me I tried to find out what was underneath whenever I could. Speculation was that you were either freakishly ugly or amazingly good-looking but you are neither. Is it because of that scar?”

One long digit reached up to touch the long rent that crawled down one side of his face, but he shook his head.

“I was meant to be just another piece of fodder in the arena, and I found that showing emotions was dangerous in there so I choose to hide them. They wanted to make me into a faceless drone, so I gave them what they wanted - well, sort of. Megatron helped me obtain my first mask and I’ve been wearing one ever since. You are the first mech to have seen my face since I covered it long ago.”

He laughed when he caught sight of Jazz’s mouth hanging open after his little speech. He tossed a goodie directly into the gaping jaws and Jazz automatically swallowed it.

“Frag it all! You can talk in complete sentences! We were sure there was a glitch that caused you to speak like a drone!”

“Not at all. I eat with my deployers and talk with them, but only after I make sure that no one else will ever see or hear me. You’ve never seen it because I make sure your surveillance devices only see what I want you to see.”

Jazz grabbed the last goodie and chewed it slowly as he watched Soundwave walk over to the container and refill the plate. Red optics gleamed at him and Jazz found himself watching every move of the other mech as Soundwave ate a few more of the delicacies. If the blatant study by his former enemy bothered him, he didn’t show it. In fact it appeared as if Soundwave was grinning at him and he found himself smiling at the oddly gentle face of the former Decepticon spymaster.

“I’m honored. But why show me now?”

“Trust. We are going to need lots of it if we are to work together to preserve the peace. You came to me, revealing who you were in the process - an alias I hadn’t yet discovered, by the way.”

Jazz laughed and grabbed a handful of goodies. “Good to know you hadn’t found me out yet. And I only use this one when I’m in the outskirts - it’s a neutral trader so I doubt it would have ever come to your attention.”

“True. Sadly, you’ll have to divorce yourself from Prime in order to win favor with Metalhawk. I can make sure that any cameras don’t show you coming here if you have to meet with either me or him, but you’ll have to make sure you aren’t being watched by anyone. Laserbeak, can help you with that as well. I’ve already informed him that he will need to be your optics as well. He will send you a channel request and I’ll make sure that no one can intercept it. He can be our liaison as well, if needed, so you don’t have to try and sneak into here too often.”

Jazz threw himself back down on the sofa and Soundwave shook his head with a smile.

“What and miss out on goodies, which by the way are the best I’ve had in vorns, and late night clandestine meetings with you? Whatever will I do for fun then?”

“As much as I’ll miss that as well, you will need to spend your time cultivating Metalhawk and his followers to ensure you can get elected. Once you’ve declared yourself, I’ll make sure you get as much support as I can muster from our former factions for you. You have to get elected, Jazz. I fear what might happen otherwise. If you eliminate anyone by your usual means, I suspect we will descend back into war and the sparklings would be put at risk as Megatron and Prime tried to neutralize a new conflict.”

Jazz’s mouth turned downward. “Ugh. This is gonna suck slag, but you’re right. You’re gonna owe me a whole vat of high grade when this is over, and I’m gonna make you come out without your mask to pay it off.”

Red optics shuttered once, then twice before Soundwave finally nodded. “Agreed, but only if you are beside me.”

Jazz studied him for a moment longer before grinning. “Sounds like we got ourselves at least the start of a plan. You know, I’m actually looking forward to working with you.”

A small smile graced the former Decepticon’s face. “And I, with you.”

~+~+~

A hot ex-vent blasted hot air over an already smoldering hot interface array. Bio-lights winked enticingly up at him and Optimus grinned as the silver thighs on either side of his helm twitched.

“You’re a slagger, Prime!”

“I agreed to spike you, and in turn you agreed to let me indulge myself.”

“I had no idea you were going to be such a fraggin tease about it!” Megatron said with a heavy rumble of his engine.

He stopped any further complaints when he bent his helm down and let his glossa taste the lubricant that was building up rather fast along the rim of the valve. That wouldn’t do. The moan from his companion had him delving down to swipe another mouthful of it while still avoiding the anterior node. He took a firmer grasp on the hips that threatened to twitch out of his control before he returned to his task, slowly creeping closer to the large node whose lights flashed incessantly begging for some attention. He flicked it and hips rocked toward him and he chuckled a little. Megatron must have heard him because another snarl came from the mech.

“Optimus!”

“Yes, is there something you wished to discuss?” 

That drew another smothered swear from the silver mech.

“Do you want me to beg?”

“I must admit that would be a novelty.”

“Please,” Megatron ground out between clenched teeth.

Figuring he had pushed his lover as far as he dared if he didn’t want this to end in a more violent way, he dove down and mouthed the node in question drawing a shout from his companion even as he felt and saw the crackle of electricity arc between them from his lover’s overload. Optimus scooted up the warframe under him while he admired his handiwork. Megatron looked good in the aftermath of pleasure. His engine had softened to just a gentle hum and his face had relaxed into a gentleness that was rarely shown outside of their apartment. Crimson optics glowed brightly once more and Megatron smirked up at him.

“You look very smug.”

“No, this is merely the look of satisfaction at a job well done.”

A bark of laughter from Megatron had him grinning.

“Well, I think you’ve only done half your job, so I would hate to give you a bad review because you only did part of your expected duties.”

Optimus laughed, “Well, when you put it that way; I would hate to tarnish my reputation because I failed to finish what I had started.”

He settled himself deeper into the cradle of his lover’s hips and lowered himself until he could claim those lips for another kiss. Megatron had other ideas though. He canted his hips upward trying to draw Prime's spike into his valve. Their mouths tangled for a few moments before Optimus drove into that warm wet heat drawing an approving growl from his lover. Their movements synced as they worked together to bring pleasure to each other. Megatron was the first to succumb as his optics dimmed and charge crawled across his plating, but in giving in to it, he drew Optimus over with him.  
Vents spewed hot air all around them as they recovered, but Prime was the first to move as he pushed himself up and off of the sharp edges of the chest he had been resting on. Megatron’s arm languidly draped over him as they settled on their sides facing each other.

“Merge?” Megatron asked.

“Yes.”

Megatron rolled onto his back, his chest plates splitting down the middle as he moved releasing the light that shone in his chest. Optimus followed him across the berth, his armor swinging apart in order to free his spark from its protection. The Matrix pulsed briefly forcing both mechs to shutter their optics at its brightness before they managed to bring their chests together enough to obscure some of that light. Pleasure coursed through their systems of a different sort as their sparks came together and for a moment, Optimus could have sworn he felt what felt like approval from the Matrix before they fell apart once more with a groan. Before he could say something to Megatron, he noticed a serious look come over his partner’s face.

“What is it?”

Megatron sidled closer and pointed one hand off to the side.

“I need to get to the console. Blast Off just entered the system carrying the rest of his gestalt. I had thought they had all deactivated long ago, but apparently not.”

Optimus rolled off the berth. “Primus, are they going to be a problem?”

Megatron glanced down and found a few smears of red and blue paint that decorated his chest, however, he took a cloth and wiped down the more obvious signs of their recent activity. He handed the cloth to Optimus before stalking towards the console that sat in their living area. Prime did the same before following him out of the berthroom.

“Honestly, I’m not sure. Onslaught and I haven’t always agreed but perhaps he like so many others feared my madness was going to kill us all and left for that reason. How he will take the peace we have here compared to what I had envisioned for us so long ago I don’t know. This will either be a good thing or a disaster for us all.”

Megatron eased into the seat in front of their computer and Optimus stepped over to the twin’s room. He opened the door and watched for a moment as the pair recharged together in a single berth. Making a decision, he opened a private channel, vaguely he could hear Megatron talking in the background. There wasn’t any yelling so he supposed that was at least a bit of a good sign.

:Prowl.:

:Yes, Prime? Is there a problem?:

:The Combaticons are in the system. Do you have any contingencies in place for just such a thing?:

:Of course, I’ll start getting people in position immediately.:

:Thank you, just remember that we cannot shoot first.:

:But - :

Optimus ex-vented and hoped he wouldn’t regret this decision. :No, we have to give them a chance, just as everyone else has received.:

:Sir, if they get the chance to form Bruticus they will cause massive destruction before we can get them under control.:

:If they are here peacefully than we have to welcome them.:

:If that is your order, sir, however, not many people are going to be happy to see them.:

:I know, Prowl, I know. Thank you.:

He disconnected that connection and opened a new one as he stepped back out in the main area. Megatron stood up and looked at him quizzically.

:Raoul, we have some new arrivals coming in. Make sure Ricochet will be one of the guardians. The Combaticons are coming in.:

:Yes, sir! I’ll take care of it and have a team meet you at your building shortly.:

:Thank you.:

Prime rubbed one hand over his face. “I have contacted everyone who should be made aware of the situation. Raoul is sending a team to meet us here and I requested that Ricochet be one of them.”

Megatron nodded. “I don’t think they will be a problem, but as I often have said before, I am taking no chances with the twins and you. So please stay at a safe distance until I feel confident that they mean us no harm.”

Optimus shuttered his optics for a moment and gave a brisk nod. “I will, but the same goes for you, be careful. I hope you are right. I suppose we should get the twins and head out to meet them.”

“Optimus, know this, although I value the power that this gestalt can bring to our people a great deal, I will kill any of them if they threaten either you or the twins.”

“I know. Although I am hard to kill, the newspark and the twins are vulnerable - if they should choose to form into Bruticus, I fear what they could do to our world.”

A flash of warmth from the artifact in his chest reassured him that at least Primus was keeping an optic on them, hopefully that would be enough to keep the peace this night.


	8. Little Things

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The fic isn't dead yet!
> 
> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> As always, feedback is appreciated.
> 
> And I have re-purposed some more IDW characters.

Jazz had expected an air of curiosity to materialize and swirl about the gathered mecha as they all waited in the center of the plaza in front of the medical building, but instead there seemed to be an aura of only a simple routine announcement. It was obvious that the topic of what was Prime’s announcement had already spread like scraplets among the occupants of the city until everyone knew of it before the night cycle had even ended. 

Their two leaders stood in front of the main doors to the structure with Optimus standing just a little in front of Megatron since he had the twins cradled against his chestplate, half in recharge if the dimming of their optics was any indication. It was apparent that the little ones were still tired from the arrival of Onslaught and his team late last night cycle and a quick scan of the crowd showed that group of bots standing together not far from where he was. He turned his gaze back to Megatron and predictably, Soundwave stood beside his former leader, although Jazz had already spotted Laserbeak flitting about high above the crowd. Only two of the sparkling watchers waited on the other side of the former miner, Raoul and Tailgate, and the latter was bouncing on his pedes as he kept glancing over at his charges. Jazz could only shake his helm and smile as he watched the mini-bot wait impatiently for the twins to wake up. Optimus had offered to keep him on as well, but he had explained that he had a new mission to run now and thankfully his leader had let him leave it at that. Rounding out the little group was Starscream; a smirk graced his faceplate as he loomed off to one side of the smaller bots. 

Optimus held up one servo and the low hum of conversation finally died down in the area.

“Thank you all for coming out so early so I will get right to business. The first free elections for our people will be held in three orns from now. As stated in the treaty you all have signed, the first orn will be for candidates to come forward and declare themselves. The next two orns will then be for them to impress all of us with their vision of what our world can be so we may all choose who we want to run our society. The individual with the most votes will then become the Head of Cybertron and the next four highest will form their council. In case there was any doubt, Megatron and I will be stepping down from any government positions once the new one is in place. I will return to the archives and work on getting them organized while he has decided to look after our sparklings. For everyone else, anyone who wishes to declare themselves a candidate needs to see Prowl who has agreed to oversee the process -”

“That hardly seems like the way to make this process fair for everyone,” Metalhawk said as he took a few steps closer to Prime.

The boxy red frame of Ironhide strolled out of the crowd and stood in front of Prime. He crossed his arms across his chest and the look on his face was one of ‘do not test me’.

Metalhawk huffed and waved his servo back towards the crowd. “See this is the problem. Your army is loyal to you, not to Cybertron. We need someone who we all can agree on as truly neutral, that we all can trust to be honest and true.”

Golden helm swiveled and the brightening of those optics when they picked his frame out and Jazz knew exactly who he had meant.

“What about Ricochet? He has your trust if he is allowed to be near your sparklings and he was a respected trader among us neutrals.”

Jazz pushed away from the building he had been leaning against and shook his helm as he straightened.

“Sorry, Metalhawk, but I plan on putting my name in so I can’t be the keeper of the list, that would be against the rules.”

Metalhawk’s mouth hung open for only a moment before he said, “I see.” 

The flyer swiveled and his optics narrowed onto another mech. “What about you, Tailgate? Will you take this on for Cybertron?”

Tailgate strode closer to Optimus and his helm swiveled between looking at Prime and Metalhawk.

“Do I have to give up watching the twins?”

Optimus shook his helm. “No, if you do not wish to be a candidate, you are free to be the official in charge of maintaining the list of candidates and still be a part of the watchers.”

“Oh that’s good then! I didn’t want to give up the best job I’ve ever had, but I’ll do this as well if it will make everyone happy. It’s not too hard, is it?”

Optimus’ battlemask retracted and he gave the smaller bot a smile. “I know you will do just fine with it. Thank you for agreeing to take on this responsibility as well.”

Tailgate ducked his helm as he moved back towards Megatron.

“With that settled, Prowl, will you please go over the responsibilities with Tailgate and please can everyone wait until he is off shift before you see him about putting in your application. Are there any other questions?”

Seeing no other objections, Optimus nodded. “Good. I look forward to seeing who our candidates will be.”

In small groups, mecha began to head off to start their day as the crowd slowly dispersed. Jazz gave Tailgate a grin and a wave as the mini-bot trailed after the larger member’s of his group. Seeing no other course, Jazz turned towards his own quarters.

:Metalhawk on interception course,: Laserbeak said across their channel with a lilting laugh.

Jazz glanced up and spotted the bigger mech heading towards him and he didn’t look pleased. 

:I see Metalhead. If I have to kill him, tell Sounders he started it.:

He plastered a smile on his face as he waited for the flyer to finish weaving his way through the crowd since every now and then someone would direct a comment towards him.

:Why do you do that?:

:Do what, Beaky? I do lots of things.:

:That. And don’t call me that, Rumble and Frenzy used to call me that and you’re not either of them.:

:Sorry, Flitter. Designations always sound so formal and boring, I like to make them fun. Just something I do.:

At last, Metalhawk stood before him and he canted his head to gaze up at the taller mech.

“Is there a problem, Metalhawk?”

“Walk with me, Ricochet, while we talk.”

Jazz fell into step with the larger mech as they headed towards the energon dispensary.

“It’s not a problem per say, but I wanted you to know that I already have four candidates for my council so I didn’t want you to be disappointed. If I had known you had greater aspirations than a sparkling watcher I would have approached you before.”

Jazz shrugged one shoulder. “Ah, that was just me helping an old friend out and really finding something for Tailgate, that mech had been fussing about not wanting to be a sanitation bot the entire journey here and I couldn’t blame him. So you’re saying don’t bother putting my name in?”

“Of course not! These are free elections after all.”

Jazz let a long ex-vent out. No time like the present to start playing this game. “Well then, if someone should change their mind about running, you’ll keep me at the top of the list, won’t you?”

Metalhawk beamed a smile at him and laid one hand on his shoulder. “Of course! And I’m glad you understood. We have to be a united front in this.”

“Absolutely. Let me know if there is anything else I can help with.”

“That I will.”

Jazz watched Metalhawk strut off. Primus fragging flyers. He bundled up the audio log and transmitted it to Laserbeak.

:Flitter, tell Sounders we got a hitch in our plan already and pass that file along to your boss.:

:Oh, that’s not good. Log transmitted. New mission is to discover who exactly are his council and work on getting one of them to drop out.:

Jazz continued his leisurely stroll towards his quarters. :Yep, my thoughts exactly - by any means necessary.:

:I agree with you, although Soundwave cautions that we need to be careful how we do it. I never thought I would be saying this, but I’m glad you are here, Jazz. Soundwave and I didn’t know of anyone else here who we could trust with something so important as this.:

:Thanks, Flitter - glad I’m here to help as well. We can’t let that aft muck up the peace we have now.:

:Yes, the twins must be kept safe.:

The vehemence he heard had Jazz pausing a moment before allowing his normal gait to resume.

:I had no idea you were so fond of them.:

:They are my friends - they don’t care that I am not like most and treat me the same as they do everyone else. I already lost most of one family, I’m not going to lose them as well.:

:Not on my watch, Flitter - not now,: Jazz growled out. :You got my word on that.:

His processor raced to identify all of the most likely candidates and formulated several plans before he even reached his apartment. He had work to do and Primus help anyone who got in his way.

~+~+~

Excited beeps had Soundwave turning to spot the twins excitedly pointing at him with one servo while the other was firmly gripped by the mini-bot known as Tailgate. Megatron and Optimus carefully stepped around the three to enter his office. He nodded to the smaller pair with a smile hidden behind his mask.

“Laserbeak: occupied.”

His statement was met with disappointed meeps. He lowered himself and carefully ran a fingertip across each perfect little helm.

“Laserbeak: meet you in the dispensary for mid-cycle fueling,” Soundwave said before turning to their creators.

That brought back smiles and nods from the pair before Megatron sent the twins off with their guardians.

“We need to contact the team on Earth and see if anyone needs to return to put their name forward as a candidate,” Megatron said.

“Acknowledged.”

Soundwave turned and his fingers tapped out the proper command in order to send a ping through the relay on the _Nemesis_ across the galaxy.

“Time frame for response: unknown.”

“Thank you, Soundwave, just forward it to our office when it comes in,” Optimus said.

He nodded to his leaders as they exited his room. Once they were well away his console resumed flashing pictures of various individuals across it as he returned to his main focus - finding out exactly who were Metalhawk’s allies in his endeavor to take over Cybertron.

~+~+~

Optimus shook his head as he thought of the hunched figure of the nearly silent mech as he toiled in his office as he walked towards their own office. Once they were inside he turned to Megatron who had already slid into his chair.

“You would think that he would relax a little more now that we are at peace, but I am not sure he even knows how. What is he working on now?”

Megatron put down the datapad he had just picked up from the pile stacked on his desk and shook his helm.

“Probably going over calculations for the building of the space bridge here on Cybertron on top of maintaining the communication network while he keeps tabs on Laserbeak as he scouts our perimeter. He’s as bad as Shockwave at thinking he’s the only one capable of doing any complex equation correctly. We should invite him down for evening energon, that way we can ensure he relaxes at least a little. He can’t resist playing with the twins.”

Prime took his own seat and smiled. “That is an excellent idea. You know, perhaps we should put those two down for the election, Primus only knows they would win on popularity alone.”

Megatron’s laughter at his statement had him laughing as well.

“I’m sure Metalhawk would find something to complain about, that mech is determined to argue with us on every little thing.” 

“He means well, he just doesn’t understand how we have changed.”

A rude noise came from the former miner. “He’s an aft and you are just too soft-sparked to say otherwise.”

Prime shrugged one shoulder but kept his focus on the console in front of him as he tried to word the invite in such a way that it didn’t seem like anything more than a friendly invite and not an order. Finally satisfied with it he sent it on to its recipient. A moment later and a simple reply of ‘yes’ was returned to him. 

“Well, he said yes.”

“Of course he did, told you he can’t resist the twins.”

“Will he actually fuel with us or will he leave his mask on and just visit?”

“I would plan on the latter, but hopefully some day he will give that thing up.”

Prime nodded and turned his optics back towards the pad at the top of the stack in front of him. He stared at it, not really reading it.

“Does Soundwave have a fondness for any sort of treat?”

Megatron chuffed a soft laugh. “If you hope to tempt him, I would suggest making some energon goodies.”

Prime cycled his vents. “I fear my cooking skills are not up to that. What about you?”

“I prefer to leave that endeavor to those who don’t explode their goodies on a regular basis.”

“Right then, well, we will have to stop at that shop that opened up not far from the dispensary and pick up some things for tonight.”

Megatron nodded and turned his attention to the pad in his servo once more. “Sounds like a plan, I have something we can use to trade with.”

“No need. I have a chunk of copper I picked up in my travels and since I do not care for the taste of that particular metal, I just held onto it, thinking I would gift it to someone eventually; but now I have a use for it and I can finally get it out of my subspace,” Optimus said as he turned his attention back to the stack of datapads in front of him. He still had to get through them before the mid-day break.

Several hours later and the now familiar sound of a back strut being popped back into alignment along with a spark-felt groan brought Optimus’ head up. Megatron stretched and gave him a grin, but before he could say anything the door to their office slid open and happy squeals were directed at them.

“Key!”

“Tor!”

The pair were let down and they raced over to their creators. Optimus gathered the mechling that hung on his leg strut with one servo while reaching up with the other, an imploring look on his face.

“We have missed you as well,” Prime said as he placed Topspin on his shoulder.

Twin Twist beeped happily from his perch where he clung to the side of the helm of the former warlord. 

“Are you two so hungry that you show up this early before it is time to head down for our energon?” Megatron asked with a smile.

The pair nodded urgently even as they each rubbed over where their tanks lay under their thin plating. Optimus quirked an orbital ridge when the grey mech gave an overly dramatic ex-vent even though the bond was alive with amusement, his to be exact.

“I’m afraid we can’t leave, in fact we might have to skip it all together since we have so much to do still.”

The tiny little gasps from the pair had Optimus shaking his head. “Do not listen to him, he is teasing you. In fact, we have a stop to make before we meet up with Laserbeak.”

Twin Twist’s tiny engine growled even as his voice rose in an angry tirade from where he stood on Megatron’s shoulder; which of course just made Megatron grin widen as the sparkling attempted to pull off menacing.

“You are so fierce; I suppose we will have to feed you after all.”

“You are terrible. Apologize to them and let us go.”

One talon gently tickled Twin Twist’s side drawing a small giggle from the bitlet even as he attempted to maintain his scowl.

“I’m sorry; I just can’t resist teasing you when you make such adorable noises.”

Optimus and Topspin were out the door and waited in the hall for the other two. The little one pointed down the hall towards where the main door.

“Fly.”

“A new word, excellent! When did you learn that one?”

Raoul grinned. “Today. He kept pointing out the window and up towards the sky when we were working on his writing and I asked him if he wanted to go flying and well, as you can see that word stuck.”

Megatron’s servo fell onto Optimus’ other shoulder. “I think we should reward him, don’t you? After all, it will only be a short trip down to the shop.”

Topspin’s beeps became more urgent as he stabbed his whole fist rapidly in the same direction as before.

“Fly!”

Not to be outdone, Twin Twist added his own opinion to his brother’s.

“Fly!”

“You cannot fly with Megatron, but you can _drive_ with me,” Prime said.

“Drive!” Twin Twist said with a grin.

“That’s settled then,” Megatron said but his optics narrowed as he took in the two vehicons, “but where is Tailgate?”

“He’s on his personal break getting instructions from Prowl on how to track the candidates, so Ivan is taking his spot until he gets back.”

“Ah, well I wish him luck with that.”

The vehicon gave a soft laugh. “Yeah, no kidding.”

The group strolled down the hall and exited the building. Traffic was light so Prime stepped onto the side of the road and shifted first, as soon as Twin Twist was deposited safely into his interior, he lowered the window so the sparkling could feel the wind at least when he began to move. Between one vent and another, Megatron transformed and shifted his jets about so he could hover while Topspin was placed onto the nose of his aircraft.

“Remember keep all of your magnets firmly against me while we are in motion.”

“Fly!”

“Yes, we will be doing that shortly. Is everyone set?”

The two watchers revved their engines as they joined the two larger vehicles.

“Ready, sir!”

Prime set the pace, on the slower side since there wasn’t an official spotter watching out for Topspin. Megatron at least flew low, low enough that either Raoul or Ivan would probably be able to catch the sparkling if he lost his grip, but that wasn’t something he was willing to take a chance with. A soft chuckle reverberated through him as he realized that Twin Twist was using his freedom inside his cab to socialize by waving at anyone he happened to see as he stood on the seat with his head sticking out of the window. Any wave that was returned was answered with a laugh and more beeping.

:Twin Twist has figured out a way to amuse himself since he cannot fly with you.:

Megatron’s laughter roared across their channel when he realized what was going on below him. :Perhaps he came to the same conclusion you did and now he is campaigning!:

Sensors alerted him to a slight decrease in magnetism before Topspin could get one servo lifted off of him.

“If you lift that servo, you will not be allowed to fly for a very long time. If you want to wave at bots than I suggest you ride with Optimus. Do I make myself clear?”

The answering little nod with an overly dramatic ex-vent at least was accompanied by the small frame hunkering back down against his own. Optimus must have felt the change in mood because a pulse of worry came across the bond.

:Is there a problem?:

:No, it’s just that I think Topspin is thinking that Twin Twist is having more fun, but we are nearly there now so no point in stopping to let him join you now.:

:Of course, I will expect him to ride back with me then.:

:Yes, that is probably for the best.:

He dropped down until he flew just behind the large truck as it pulled off to one side. Raoul and Ivan shifted first, Ivan coming to pluck Topspin off his frame while Raoul removed Twin Twist from Prime’s interior. Once free of the sparklings, the creators transformed as well and Optimus gathered the pair to him. Megatron peered at the doorway, it was on the smallish side so being larger than average it would be a tight squeeze for them. The sign overhead announced the shop as _Skid’s Sweet Shop_. He turned sideways and shuffled through the doorway with Prime right behind him. 

The aroma of energon goodies filled the area and had his tank rumbling in appreciation. Racks and display cases littered the area with little semblance of organization. The proprietor, a mostly blue bot, looked up from where he had been shoving a case back towards a wall.

“Oh! Hello. I wasn’t expecting anyone yet.”

“Are you not open?”

“I am, just usually nobody comes in this early. Sorry about the mess, I was trying to organize things better. What can I get you?”

Optimus stepped up to the nearest case, twins perched on his shoulders.

“Oh my,” the mech said as his optics widened at the grins and waves he was currently receiving from the pair.

“You are Skids?” Prime asked.

“Yes.”

“Are any of these safe for sparklings to consume?”

“Well, all of them, of course, just they aren’t necessarily good for any of us. What kind do they prefer?”

Megatron stepped up beside his intended and gazed down at delicacies the like of which he hadn’t seen for many vorns. “They have never had anything like these, I’m afraid neither of us have any skills with goodies, well, besides consuming them.”

Optimus snorted a soft laugh. “What would you recommend for them?”

“A plain one, just to see if they like them. I’ve managed to trade for numerous additives so if they like them than you can start seeing what other flavor profiles they like. Here, let me cut one in half and they can try it.”

Skids stepped into a back room and came out with a little square energon goodie which he promptly cut in half before offering the two pieces to Optimus. The larger bot took them and offered a half to each twin. Twin Twist gazed at it a moment before opening his mouth and nibbled on one edge. An enthusiastic squeal came from the little one before be began chomping on the treat with great relish. The delight that washed through the bond was strong enough to encourage Topspin to glomp down on the piece he held. In a matter of moments, all that was left was sticky residue on their servos which both sparklings attempted to remedy by vigorously sucking on them in their mouth.

Megatron laughed. “Well, I would say that is an unequivocal ‘yes’ to that question.”

Optimus smiled and nodded. “Yes, so it seems. I have a chunk of copper to trade for perhaps a variety of different types.”

The hunk of metal was placed on the counter and Skids examined it closely before he gazed up at Prime.

“It looks to be good quality and relatively pure and so it is worth far more than a sampling of goodies. I would say about -”

“Keep it and open a tab for us, I have a feeling we will be back for more.”

Another chuckle rolled out of the former Warlord. “Most bots open a tab at the bar, but we open one at a treat shop.”

“Hmm, yes, perhaps we should not mention that to the medics, I fear they would not appreciate our enthusiasm for goodies.”

Urgent beeps brought their attention back to the twins who were pointing down to the ground.

“Ah, do you wish to thank Skids?”

The pair nodded at Optimus and he lifted them off and placed them on the floor. Skids watched as the tiny little bots rushed towards him and without any reserve, grabbed hold of his leg struts and smiled up at him. He squatted and gently ran a finger across each helm.

“Primus above, I have never touched a sparkling before. No one has seen one since long before the war even began, and yet here are two. And you share them. I don’t understand,” Skids shook his head but turned his gaze back down. “You are quite welcome, uh -”

“Topspin is that scraplet on your left leg and Twin Twist is his spark twin on the other one,” Megatron said with a grin tossed at Optimus.

“We do not hide them because as you see, they are social beings just as fully mature sparks are and it would be cruel to keep them away from others.” 

Skids gave a firm nod. “You let me know which ones they like best and I’ll see about making something special for them.”

“Thank you, but that is not necessary. I am sure we will be back for more,” Optimus said as he scooped the pair back up and inclined his helm to Skids.

The sparklings watched closely as the mech pulled various colored and decorated squares out from trays all over the shop and placed them in a box before handing it to Optimus who quickly deposited it into his subspace before shuffling his way out the door, but Megatron paused before leaving.

“I don’t suppose you have any rust sticks, do you?”

“Sure, let me get you some. I’ll just put it on your tab.”

“No. I would like to trade something of my own for them since they are for Optimus and he failed to get any for himself.”

He pulled an empty bottle out of his subspace and placed it next to the hunk of metal. Skids picked it up and studied it closely.

“Wow. Pre-war and in nearly perfect condition, I swear I can still smell the cheap hi-grade that used to be in it.”

“Probably because it was drained not long ago, it was a memento of a time long past and I think it is time to put it aside and look to the future.”

The blue mech let his jaw drop open for a moment. “Right. Well, I don’t have enough rust sticks at the moment to compensate fairly for this -”

“A tab then, just give me a handful of the things as I can’t stand them and I’m sure Optimus will make them last regardless. If he comes in here asking for more, just pull them from my tab and let me know when it is drained.”

“Of course.”

The mech strode into the back room once more and returned with another container and handed it to Megatron. 

“Thank you,” the silver mech said.

“You’re welcome and come back soon.”

“I’m sure we will.”

He eased through the door and Optimus raised an optic ridge at the container he clutched.

“We do not have enough already?”

“Well, you didn’t get something for yourself,” Megatron said before plucking a stick out of the box. “This is a rust stick, not everyone likes them, but perhaps you two would like to try it?”

“Oh. How did you know?”

The twins were nodding energetically and had pointedly opened their mouths. The treat was held towards Topspin first and he tentatively took a nibble of it and his visor brightened as the taste registered with him. Twin Twist took a bigger bite after his brother’s reaction, however his mouth drooped open and he immediately scrapped the bite off of his glossa and made a disgusted noise as he held the piece in his servo and couldn’t figure out what to do with it. His brother held out his own hand and the damp and slightly chewed piece was transferred and happily popped into the other’s mouth.

“I heard someone mention it once. Perhaps you would like to try it as well, just to make sure it is good quality,” Megatron said as he held the piece in front of Optimus’ face.

Prime opened his mouth as the treat came towards him and the first taste of something he hadn’t in a vorn had him making a happy hum of approval. The low laugh of Megatron’s did nothing to diminish his enjoyment as the stick was slid into his mouth. He vaguely felt the touch of Megatron’s fingers on his mouth as he chomped down on the delicacy. Joy bloomed through his spark, far more than just his and the twin’s and he realized then that the newspark was solidifying its connection with him, an event he knew that had once brought Megatron to his knees.

“Oh,” was all he managed to get out of his vocalizer even as he realized he had begun falling towards the pavement. Warnings flashed across his HUD warning of a urgent need to reboot. Servo’s helped support him so at least he didn’t face plant on the ground.

“Of course it decides to do this here. I don’t know what it is about our newsparks, but they most definitely like to be outside,” Megatron said. “Hold on, Optimus, Ambulon is on his way. We’ll get you home.”

Prime managed a small nod before he said, “Must reboot.”

The darkening of his optics had the silver mech cursing under his breath as he struggled to hold onto Optimus. Raoul and Ivan had already removed the twins while Skids rushed out of his shop.

“Is he okay?”

“Yes, and there is Ambulon.”

A portal swirled to life near them and a transport skid with the medic pushing it came through at a run.

“Primus, he couldn’t wait to reboot until I got here?”

“Obviously not, the only reason I didn’t reboot when it happened to me was because I had battle protocols running that allowed me to cancel that command.”

Megatron grabbed Prime under the arms, the frame limp and hard to hold. “Grab his legs and help me get him on the skiff.”

Ambulon and Skids each grabbed a leg and between the three of them they managed to get the slack body onto the device. A crowd had begun to form around them until a large red frame bulled through them with a snarl on his face.

“What the frag did you do to him?” Ironhide snarled at Megatron.

“Not a thing and I suggest you move out of our way.”

The wail of sirens had the crowd breaking apart once more as a white and black enforcer sped into view before breaking apart and Prowl scanned the scene.

“Back up everyone, give the medic room to work,” Prowl said as he waved the onlookers further back. He glanced back and found Megatron and Ironhide practically growling at each other over the limp body of Prime on the medical skid, he turned and moved between the two.

“Ambulon, what is the problem?”

“Prime is fine; he has asked me to keep his medical information private so I can’t say anything else without his approval. We just need to get him back to his quarters while his system reboots.”

“Put the twins with him, they are understandably upset about all of this commotion,” Megatron said as he moved to stand beside Prime while keeping a servo on the other’s shoulder. 

The sparklings scurried up the frame as soon as they were placed on the skiff and hunkered down on either side of their creator’s helm. Ambulon moved to the controls and the device began to move, as if on cue, another portal swirled to life in front of them and with the two vehicons trailing them and then the procession was gone. Ironhide slid to a stop when the portal winked out of existence just before he reached it and he snarled another curse.

“What happened?” Prowl asked as he stepped up to Ironhide.

“Dunno. Came around the corner to find Prime slumped on the ground with Megatron, that medic, and that bot over there manhandling him,” Ironhide said with a digit pointing at Skids.

Prowl nodded and stepped over to the blue mech who crossed his arms across his chassis in front of him.

“They came in to my shop and traded for some treats and were just fine upon leaving it. Ambulon sounded like he knew what was going on, so I guess you’ll have to wait to ask Prime.” 

“Indeed, you are correct. Alright everyone return to your day. There is nothing more to see here.” 

Prowl stood watching as the gathered bots disappeared even as the buzz of comm lines filled the area. News of this was bound to reach every inhabitant in a matter of breems. He activated his own communication array and contacted the one bot that he knew that stood guard over Megatron and Prime’s quarters. 

:Soundwave, please let Prime know that he needs to address the situation when he recovers. I fear we will have Metalhawk calling for him to step down now if he can’t allay everyone’s fears that he is compromised somehow.:

:Acknowledged.:

Prowl stood in the area until everyone had left except for Ironhide. The big red mech stalked over to him a scowl still on his face.

“I don’t like this, Prowl. Something is going on and I just know that fragger is behind it.” 

“I know you have been Prime’s bodyguard since the beginning, but I think perhaps you are mistaken this time. I have interacted with both of them and I have seen nothing to warrant your reaction today. I don’t like Megatron either, but we must move past the war if we want peace. I’ll tell Prime to contact you as soon as I hear from him.”

Not waiting for a response, Prowl transformed and headed back to the station. He had recruits to train still and peace in the colony to be maintained. Ironhide stood for a moment before he stalked off unsure how to protect the mech he had sworn to defend and had looked after for so many vorns.


	9. Riptide

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always, please let me know if you spot a mistake I missed and feedback is greatly appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!

Joy was the first thing that coursed through him as he felt his systems come fully online. First there were the twins and more distantly, Megatron, but far closer to his own spark a new tone was added to the various notes of that emotion. The newspark delighted in and seemed to devour all the happiness directed towards it and it brought a smile to his lips.

“Ah, there you are.”

He brought his optics online and found Megatron curled on his side next to him on their berth. The gentleness that shone on his lover’s face seemed odd somehow but still right as it was directed towards him. The twins had wedged themselves in between their frames and even now patted his windshield and grinned happily up at him. 

“How are you feeling?”

He cleared his vocalizer. “Good. The error messages are gone. You managed to get me to our quarters.”

“Yes, Ambulon brought a skid and we hauled you back home. We need to do a quick merge so the little one will not fret if I move away, but it appears that a system reboot is the way to go - you’ve recovered far faster than I did.”

Silver servos carefully scooped up the pair and placed them above Optimus’ head.

“Stay there. We need to settle my bond with the newspark.”

Little beeps came from the pair but they remained where they were placed. Tiny mouthplates turned up and they embraced Prime’s helm and peppered their creator with kisses. A soft laugh left him at their attention even as he gingerly maneuvered his frame so he reclined on his back while Megatron rolled on top of him and straddled him. Grey chestplates cracked open revealing the bright spark within and he followed suit. Being on the bottom he couldn’t see the newspark as well, but he caught a glimpse of it as it strained towards its co-creator, such a tiny ember of life. Their sparks merely grazed each other, but honestly that was secondary to the immense elation coming from the newspark as it settled between them and finally created a true bond with its co-creator, of course neither of its creators noticed the brightening of the optics of the twins, so lost were they in their merge. As soon as he felt the connection with the newspark settle, Megatron reluctantly pulled away. Plates slid back into place, protecting their sparks once more.

“As much as I would love to linger here, Soundwave contacted me while you were still offline. You need to call Prowl; he fears there might be some issues with your sudden shutdown.”

Optimus covered his face with one hand. “Primus, that happened in the middle of the street during the day.”

Megatron’s soft laugh had him uncovering his face.

“Our sparklings do like being outside, don’t they?”

“Yes, they do,” Prime said with a chuckle, but then his optics shuttered and the smile faded. “How bad is the situation?”

“He didn’t give specifics but it sounded like you are going to need to make a statement to the colony on why you suddenly collapsed. I know you wished to keep the newspark private, but I don’t think you’ll be able to do that anymore,” Megatron said. 

He nodded and opened a channel to Prowl.

:Prowl -:

:Prime, what is your status?:

:I am fine. I am sorry if I worried anyone. Megatron told me that I will probably need to make a statement.:

:That would be best, and might I suggest you talk to Ironhide. He is not handling this well.:

:I will. Is there anything else I should know?:

:The sooner the better, surveillance cameras are showing groups are gathering all over and I can assure you, you are the topic of conversation at the moment.:

Prime groaned at that statement. :Understood. I will have Soundwave send out a broadcast -:

:Sir, you need to be seen. I would suggest going to the shop where you dropped earlier. Skids has contacted me several times already, afraid that you might have had a reaction to something he had made.:

:I will do that then and I will let Soundwave know so he can announce it. I just need to talk to Ironhide first.:

:That would be best. I confess, I too am interested in what happened.:

:Honestly, everyone is making far more of this than it is.:

Shaking his helm, he closed that connection and opened another to Ironhide, a channel he hadn’t used in a very long time.

:Prime! Are you okay? Do you need me to come get you and the bitlets to safety?:

:Ironhide, I am well - we all are. I do need to talk with you, perhaps you could meet me at my building?:

:Of course, be there in less than a breem.:

:I will wait for you in the lobby.:

A long ex-vent left him as he closed that line down.

“What do we need to do?” Megatron asked.

He gave his intended a small smile. “I need to go meet with Ironhide downstairs, we have to discuss some things before we head out so that I might make a public statement; Prowl has suggested we use the place where it all happened to do so.”

“Yes, he did accuse me of being behind your collapse, perhaps I should have told him I was,” Megatron said with a grin.

Prime’s optics narrowed at the grey mech. “That is most assuredly not how to help the situation at all.”

Red optics alight with laughter, Megatron shrugged one shoulder. “Perhaps not, but it would have been funny.”

“Only if you are looking to start a fight, please do not tease Ironhide. He has always been one of my personal bodyguards until I put him to protecting Prowl and he takes my well-being to spark.”

“I can see that. However, although I am happy to take the blame in this instance at least; I am getting tired of members of your former army insisting that any problem falls firmly at my pedes.”

“Yes, I will remind him of that as well. Just please, do not tease him.”

Megatron rolled off the berth and to his feet. He had just barely put his hand out towards the twins when the pair practically vaulted onto it.

“Understood. Go, I will take care of the twins while you talk to him, just remember none of us have had their mid-day fueling and some of us need it more than the others.”

Optimus gained his pedes as soon as the sparklings were cleared from the berth.

“I will be as quick as I can,” he said as he pulled a rather large box out of his sub-space, “perhaps they could split another treat while they wait.”

Another laugh left Megatron as he took the box in his free hand. “Excellent diversion. Shall we study the offerings and find something to try?”

Optimus smiled as he stopped to watch the little ones closely examine the goodies laid out before them when Megatron deposited them all on the table. Shaking his helm, he left their quarters to the   
sounds of the pair squealing in delight over the choices laid out before them. He gave a quick nod to the two vehicons waiting in the hallway before he hurried down the stairs and into the front lobby to find a familiar squarish red frame standing at the door already. He opened it and waved his old friend inside.

“Thank you for coming -”

Ironhide shook his helm. “Of course I came. I was worried about you. What in the name of Primus is going on?”

Optimus clapped a hand over one wide shoulder. “Although startling, I can assure you that what happened earlier was a good thing. My system needed to reboot because the newspark I carry needed to form its creator bond with me.”

Bright blue optics spiraled wide and Ironhide’s mouth hung open as his engine stuttered.

“You telling me that you and he,” one black digit pointed up to the ceiling, “created another one?”

Prime simply nodded as Ironhide drew away and paced about him shaking his head.

“I sort of understood how the twins came to be, but I thought you were living with him just for them?”

Optimus ex-vented. “Although you find it hard to believe, Megatron is truly a changed mech and he will be the first to tell you that if you give him a chance -”

A snort of disgust interrupted Prime. 

“Why you believe anything that slagger says is beyond me! Can’t you remember how many times we’ve had to pick up the pieces of something he has ruined?”

“Remember, I have had to share sparks with him in order to keep him and the twins alive. I have seen firsthand who he is without the taint of dark energon and it is a mech I have grown fond of.”

Ironhide stopped mid-step and swiveled around to narrow his optics at Optimus. “You’re serious?”

“Yes, and the colony we have built here is important to both of us, we both want our sparklings to have the chance to be grow and live in a world that is at peace.”

Prime watched as Ironhide stalked about the area trying to wrap his processor around everything that had been said before he finally stopped to look at his former leader. 

“Fine. I’ll try for you and the little ones,” Ironhide said softly, “but the bitlets don’t seem to like me much, figured they took after him.”

Optimus shook his head sadly. “It is because they sense your hatred of Megatron. You have to realize that to them their creators are their world - they are secure in our love so when someone dislikes one of us they assume it is directed at them as well. Come stand with us while I explain to the colony what happened and then join us when we refuel and I think you will see what I see.”

Optics narrowed, Ironhide gazed at Prime. “What will he think of that?”

“I would prefer there be peace between you two, you are one of the few I would have guard the sparklings if there was a true battle, but as it stands now I fear that they would fear you just as much as any attackers. I do not expect you to like Megatron, but try to find a common ground in the twins so that there might be peace between you. After the mass arrival of the neutrals, I realize that although the vehicons are brave, they are sorely outclassed should they be forced to defend their charges and with Ricochet gone -”

A grin slid across Ironhide’s face. “Told you that mech was alive.”

Prime laughed. “Yes, you did. But he is off doing his own thing now and will not be on hand should the twins need protecting.”

Ironhide nodded, his mouth pressed into a thin line. “I’ll be there to protect them and you, since you’re not supposed to be fighting either. What’s that rascal up to anyway? I nearly coughed up a gasket trying to contain my laughter when I heard him say he was going to run for office!”

“To be honest, I am not sure, but I suspect he is keeping an optic on Metalhawk.”

“Ah, that’s good then. You just holler when you need me -”

Optimus smiled brightly at his old friend and clamped one hand on a wide red shoulder. “Excellent, I will tell Raoul to contact you should we have an unfriendly arrival. Now, let me contact Megatron to come down with the twins so we can end this confusion about my status.”

At Ironhide’s nod, Prime activated the channel to Megatron.

:Come down, things are settled finally. I invited him to join us for fueling and more importantly, he has agreed to guard the twins should we come under attack.:

:On our way. You do realize that there are numerous individuals who will guard the little ones should that happen:

:Of course, but with Ricochet off doing his own thing, I wanted someone who Raoul could contact in such a situation and he is a formidable soldier.:

He closed that channel and opened another.

:Soundwave, can you please let everyone know that I will be making a statement in front of Skid’s shop in a breem? We are heading out now.:

:Acknowledged. Information: transmitted.:

Sure enough across the open airwaves, his message was transmitted. And a moment later he heard the clank of footsteps, although the amusement and delight that radiated across the bond had him smiling as Megatron leading the little troop descended into the lobby. 

“I take it they found something they liked?” Optimus asked, although the servos that were jammed in tiny mouths and were being vigorously sucked on indicated that something tasty had passed that way.

“As if you have to ask, I locked the rest of them up in a cabinet high up so hopefully that will keep any adventurous bodies from getting into them.”

“Good thinking. Raoul, Ironhide will be your new contact should the colony come under attack.”

“Yes, sir. I still can’t believe Ricochet left us. Nobody has ever wanted to leave this job,” Raoul said.

“I know it is hard to believe, but I think he is hoping to make a difference for them in a different way,” Prime said.

“I hope you are right,” Raoul said.

Ironhide strode over to the smaller mech. “That’s my private channel. You call me, regardless of when and I’ll be there and I always show up loaded for Quints and then some.”

“You fought them before?”

“Yup, I was constructed during that war, helped free us from their tentacles so I know a thing or two about holding a blaster,” Ironhide said with a grim smile. “We should meet at that new bar and over some high grade and I’ll tell you about that war.”

“That would be great. I look forwarding to hearing about it.”

“Fly!” Topspin said with an emphatic pointing of his slightly soggy servo.

“I think he is saying that he is hungry and we need to get going,” Optimus said with a smile.

“Treat?” Twin Twist asked as he too pointed out the front door.

“No, we are going for energon. Remember, Laserbeak is supposed to meet us,” Megatron said as he laughed. “And there will be no flying, how about you ride with your brother and you two can wave at all the bots you see?”

“While another word is excellent, I fear what will happen when Ratchet learns that they know what those are,” Optimus said as he strode out the door.

“Not to worry, Prime, I’ll tell ol’Hatchet that they overheard me saying it. Energon goodies are one of the rights of all sentient beings, I’m sure you said that at some time.”

Optimus laughed, “Yes, I am sure it was something like that.” He stepped out into the road and with a whirl of gears he shifted forms and his engine still rumbled in amusement.

Megatron placed the pair into the cab and shut the door before he began his own transformation. The rest of the party had shifted already and with a roar of his engine, the big red truck shot off in the lead while the rest of them flowed out behind him. The road remained clear until they neared the shop and then it was obvious where everyone was. It looked like nearly the entire colony was gathered around the little shop.

Mecha shifted aside when Ironhide’s horn blared a warning signal as he rolled closer before shifting to his bipedal form. Prime had barely rolled to a stop a little further back from the gathering when Megatron dropped down beside him in root form so he could pluck the twins out of his interior allowing him to transform back to his robot form.

“Move aside,” Ironhide barked out, “let us through!”

“I thought you were beyond the pomp and circumstance of the old ways? Yet somehow you have managed to make every outing into a parade, just without any music.” The bright gleam of a gold finish preceded the flyer as he stepped to the front of the crowd.

“Well, I’m sure we can arrange some music, if you would prefer that,” Megatron said with a feral smile.

Optimus nudged the silver mech who kept the same expression all the while shifting the twins further away from where Metalhawk stood.

“Since the twins are over-due for refueling, it seemed prudent to bring them with us as we will be heading there next and having them here means we need to have more servos on hand.”

“Ah, yes, how will you two ever function without so many flunkies when you retire is beyond me.”

“Enough!” Megatron said and his engine revved angrily.

Optimus laid a hand on the arm that cradled the pair of sparklings close to that silver chassis. “Megatron is right. The reason I asked Soundwave to gather everyone here as there was some confusion on my status - as you can all see I am fully functional.”

Metalhawk moved to stand up on a box that had been placed nearby. A handy coincidence, Megatron thought with a shake of his helm.

“Really? I’ve never known a healthy individual to just ‘drop’ as you did. Perhaps the strain of leadership and your personal life has become too much for you, it might be in your best interest for both of you to step down now.”

“I am sure Ambulon will be happy to -”

Metalhawk threw his hands up in the air. “How do we know that you won’t collapse again, at some critical moment just when our leaders are needed? Is that a chance any of us are willing to take?”

Murmured ‘aye’ and ‘yes’ began to swell throughout the crowd as they agreed with Metalhawk. Optimus released one long vent before he took a step closer to the flyer and turned to face the majority of the mecha gathered around them.

“What happened earlier today was a singular event, for whatever reason, the newspark that I harbor behind my spark decided that particular moment was a good time to initiate the final formation of our creator - creation bond. It causes a hard reboot, but it is a onetime event. So yes, I am not worried that will be happening again -”

More than one engine sputtered and Megatron struggled to contain his laughter at the range of emotions on display before them - everything from disbelief to awe. 

Optics narrowed in distrust, Metalhawk shook his helm, “Ambulon -”

“I helped check the newspark under Ratchet’s oversight just the other day. What Prime experienced today is completely normal and like he said, will not be repeated; so he can continue in his normal duties of meetings and reports,” the medic said as he strode up to Prime.

Optimus gave the medic a smile. “Thank you, so please can everyone go about their business as usual.”

Not waiting for any other complaints, Megatron deposited the twins into Optimus’ arms before he began guiding him towards the energon dispensary.

“Come on. You and the twins need your fuel and that mech will never be satisfied with anything either of us ever says.”

The crowd parted for them, Optimus wasn’t sure if it was because who they were or the snarl that was frozen on Megatron’s face. The twins beeped at him and he glanced down to find worried optics watching him.

“Megatron, you need to throttle it back, you are upsetting the twins.”

That drew a heavy vent and a nod from the grey mech, but when he turned back towards Prime, there was a small smile on his face.

“I am sorry little ones, I’m not upset with you; something about that mech just rubs me wrong. Primus, I hope Starscream is elected to his council just to make his life miserable!”

Ironhide laughed hard at that. “That’s a sentiment I can get behind, maybe we should start a special campaign just for Screamer!”

They were all still chuckling as they entered the dispensary and for once it was empty. Megatron directed them to a large table.

“You sit, I’ll get our rations while we wait for the hoard to follow us here,” Megatron said before he stalked off towards the rows of cubes stacked up.

“Hoard?” Ironhide asked with a glance over at Prime.

“That would be a hold-over from our time on the ship,” Raoul said with a grin.

Optimus nodded as he pulled a pair of smaller empty cubes out of his subspace. “Yes, on the ship we went to the common area more often than not to get our rations. Now that we are on the planet, we tend to only show up here mid-day.”

“And everyone who enjoys visiting with the twins pops in to see them at that time.”

“Everyone,” Ivan said with a laugh.

“And as a final gift, we leave as soon as they have finished fueling, so that our presence does not intimidate anyone.”

“What! Who will protect them?” Ironhide said. 

“Hey! We watch over them -”

“And most of the mecha that show up here look out for them as well,” Ivan said with a nod. 

A stack of cubes were placed on the table before Megatron slid into the seat next to Prime. The twins scrambled across the table when they spotted Optimus pouring energon into the ones made special for them. As soon as the pair had settled down and were sipping their energon, Prime took a long swallow for himself.

“Ah, I did not realize how low my tank had gotten.”

“Been there, had the cubes shoved at me by Soundwave enough to guess at how much extra you need.”

“Truly?” Optimus asked with a quirk of an optical ridge. “I find it hard to believe that you would just stop what you were doing to drink them.”

A soft snort of laughter left the former warlord. “Well, if I didn’t drink it right then, he would replay all the medic conversations detailing exactly how much extra I needed in a cycle. So yes, I took them and downed them. For a mech of few words, he can get his point across very well when he wants to.”

The door opened and a small flyer zoomed in and the twins squealed and waved excitedly to their friend. Laserbeak landed on the edge of the table and the twins nearly spilt their cubes as they dropped them to scurry over to the symbiote. Laughing they hurled themselves onto Laserbeak who accepted the embrace and did his best to return by curving his wings as best as he could around the pair.

“Do you need any fuel?” Megatron asked.

Twin Twist released his friend and charged over to his partially full cube and offered it to the flyer, with Topspin right behind his brother. Laserbeak carefully took a few sips from each cube and the twins grinned up at their creators.

“Thank you for sharing with him. Now you just need to finish your rations,” Prime said.

The door slid open once more and other bots began to trickle into the area, most with a furtive glance over at the occupied table. Seeing the arrival of more of their friends, the twins began to gulp their fuel in large swallows. Megatron grinned at them and leaned down towards Laserbeak.

“Tell Soundwave that we are going to hit him with both barrels of sparklings and they will be armed with energon goodies.”

“Treat!” the pair exclaimed happily.

:No, I don’t think I will, I think that maneuver will be far more effective if it comes as a surprise,: Laserbeak said with a laugh over the channel he shared with the two leaders. :You will be sure to save a few for me? I’ll be finishing up my patrol when Soundwave shows up at your door.:

“Of course, we’ll make sure that you’ll get your fair share.”

The twins held up their now empty cubes and beeped before pointing towards the mecha that were settling around them.

Optimus chuckled and stood up. “I believe that is our cue to get back to work so the twins can visit.”

Ironhide’s optics scanned the crowd before returning to Prime. “Ah, are you sure that is safe? I mean, -”

Red optics narrowed as Megatron spotted Metalhawk and his entourage entering the area. “Add Metalhawk and his ilk to the list -”

Prime shook his head. “No, if he wishes to meet the twins, let him. Perhaps if they can win him over and then he will realize we are not the same mechs he thinks we are.”

“List? There’s a list? Who’s on it?” Ironhide asked.

“Optimus, how can you be so willing to take a risk like that with our sparklings? That mech has been nothing but a pain -”

“Do not finish that statement,” Optimus growled. “And look around you - do you honestly think any of them would dare anything in front of so many witnesses?”

“We would never let anything happen to the twins under our watch!” Ivan said.

Raoul nodded. “We’ll be right behind them if nothing else to make sure mecha watch where they walk.”

The scowl never left the former warlord’s face even as he nodded. “Fine, the list remains empty at the moment, but if -”

Optimus smiled at Megatron. “Thank you. And if he shows himself to be untrustworthy, we will both deal with him. But after all, Starscream has managed to get himself taken off of it and Shockwave has proven that he will abide by the rules you laid out for him. I do not think anyone here will ever intentionally harm them.”

“Yes, well, Starscream has always been adept at reading which way the wind is shifting and he quickly learned just how much both our armies dote on the pair. Primus, he’s publicly declared he will be the one instructing Topspin on flight when he gets his adult frame. I was told that my flailing about in the air didn’t count as proper flying.”

Optimus pushed away from the table. “And that is my point, I know you feared letting him near the twins and now you do not. Give them a chance to work their magic while we go back to our reports.”

A non-committal grunt was all he got in response, but Megatron fell in step behind Prime as they exited the room. He did shoot a glare over at the pack of neutrals as they passed, but wisely said nothing. He would have to settle for venting his anger on the multitude of reports waiting for them. And perhaps nudge Soundwave into talking with Ricochet, yes, unleashing that pair onto Metalhawk would be very satisfying, he thought with a grin.

~+~ ~+~

Optimus glared at the box full of goodies. Nothing he or Megatron had in their possession would do as a serving tray. He ex-vented and little helms swiveled up at him before returning to stare at the treats before them.

“Nothing to do but serve them from the box,” Prime said even as he attempted to make the delicacies into a more pleasing display than the current jumble.

Megatron laughed as he came from the kitchen area, cubes of energon in his servos. “Trust me, Soundwave won’t care, especially if the twins offer him any of those things.”

“Beep beep bip?” Twin Twist asked as he pointed towards the goodies.

“I am trying to make them as pleasing to the optic as they are to the taste.”

“Beep beep bip?” Topspin asked.

“Perhaps they wish to help you,” Megatron said with a grin, amused at the twins’ fascination with the contents of the box.

The pair nodded with happy smiles and then they turned their gaze towards one another and seemed to be puzzling something out between themselves.

“Help?” they asked together.

Prime’s smile was wide and laughter lit his optics. “Yes, I could use some. Perhaps you have some ideas on how to make them look nice.”

The twins dove into the box and began stacking the squares until a box like shape appeared. That was then when the first disagreement occurred. Twin Twist started removing blocks as fast as Topspin had been placing them. A few angry sounding growls and beeps occurred between them before Optimus put his hand between the two and quickly divided the goodies into two piles.

“None of that, now you each can build what you want with your pile.” He glanced up at Megatron. “You know they remind me of something that humans gave their little ones to build with. It is unfortunate that I bartered all of that copper already -”

“I have something,” Megatron said as he pulled a datapad out of his subspace. One sharp optic caught Topspin about to lick the ‘block’ he was holding. “No tasting the treats until company arrives.”

Topspin gave a little nod and a soft sigh before he returned to building his tower.

“Is that the one with the stories we read the twins?”

“Of course not! No, this is the collection of poetry that you asked me to keep locked up.”

“Oh. But was that not a gift from Orion?”

At Prime’s look, he lifted one shoulder and let it drop. “I can think of no better use for it and he would have been happy that it was being used for something for the twins.” 

“But, it was a gift from their creator.”

Megatron shook his head sharply. “His spark is your spark, and yes, he might have ignited them in my spark, but it was you and your contributions that kept us all alive. You are their creator and to say otherwise is to count yourself short. Besides, having something like that for them to occupy themselves would be good thing for them. Tomorrow we will go to the market on our mid-day break and see what we might find.”

The door pinged preventing any further arguments from Optimus as Megatron went to open it. As expected, his former spymaster stood waiting at the threshold. He canted his head and Megatron gave him a smile and waved him inside. 

“We were just discussing something, sorry, please come in. Topspin, Twin Twist, perhaps you could offer our guest a treat?”

“Treat!” the pair squealed happily as they each retrieved one from their respective piles and offered them up from where they stood on the low table in the living area.

One slender blue digit pointed at his former leader. “Evil, just plain evil.”

Crimson optics flashed with humor. “You know you want to try them and how can you say no to those faces?”

Soundwave shook his head and with one hand gently removed his face plate.

“Really Prime, I thought you would be above such machinations.”

Megatron barked out a laugh. “It was his idea to get the goodies and the twins wanted to share them. I am blameless, really.”

The smile on Prime’s face showed he wasn’t sorry, not one bit. “I merely wished for you to relax and enjoy your time off and asked if you had a preference for anything. Megatron is the one who gave you up.”

“Treat?” the twins asked again, confusion lacing through their voice. 

“Ah yes, those both look delicious, perhaps we could share them together? I think that would make them that much better, don’t you?”

The pair gave a joyful beep before they each took a bite of their respective prize. Once that had been swallowed, they held the now oozing goodies up once more. Soundwave dropped to one knee next to the table and smiled at the brothers.

“Perhaps you should share the one you are holding to your brother and then I’ll happily take what’s leftover to try. They do look quite good.” 

The twins didn’t have to be told twice as they practically shoved the sweets at each other. Even as they chewed, they once more offered them up to Soundwave who dutifully took the mangled remnants and popped them in his mouth.

“Oh, those are very good. I assume these are what you bought at Skid’s today?” Soundwave asked with a glance over at Prime and Megatron.

“Yes, we even have a tab there now,” the former warlord said with a grin. “There are rust sticks as well, although you usually don’t care for those.”

“Laserbeak has more of a taste for them. He should be showing up soon, I think.”

Optimus nodded. “Yes, he did mention that earlier and asked us to make sure there would be some left for him.”

The lilting laughter from the normally stoic mech caught Prime by surprise.

“That little scraplet. I felt his amusement earlier and asked him about it and he just told me that the twins did something cute. Somehow I don’t think that was the reason.”

Megatron grinned and clapped his friend on the shoulder. “Perhaps we should have our fuel while we wait for him to show up. There was something I wished to ask you though.”

Prime and Soundwave picked up one of the large cubes while Megatron handed the sparklings their own little portions.

“You have to finish that before any more treats, understood?”

The pair nodded and began to sip on their fuel. Seeing them obeying, the silver mech settled onto a chair between the other two.

“Optimus and I have decided to perform the rite of Conjunx Endura, and I would like for you to be my witness for it.”

Soundwave inclined his helm and pressed a fist to his chest. “It would be my honor and pleasure. When do you plan to have it?”

Optimus gave a little shrug. “I want to ask Ratchet to be my witness as soon as he returns, but I am hoping to do it in five days when both moons are in the sky - an auspicious time according to the old lore.”

“I look forward to it. Just let me know what you need.” For a moment, Soundwave’s optics dimmed and then he shook his head with another soft laugh. 

“Laserbeak has a request to make. He asks if you would please put that light blue goodie to one side for him, Topspin. Twin Twist, he wants you to put the one with the dark green swirls aside as well. He would like to share them with you when he gets here. He says he has just one more area to check and then he will be on his way. For some reason he seems to think I will eat them all before he gets here.”

The twins put down their rations and happily began rearranging the treats in their piles; Twin Twist found his first and held it aloft towards Soundwave.

“Yes, that one exactly. Good job, Twin Twist and Laserbeak says thank you.”

Topspin’s pile crashed around him as he searched through the bottom tier for the one that matched the description given to him. Finally spotting his prize, he grabbed it and held it towards Soundwave who smiled broadly at the pair.

“Yes, that’s the one. You two did a great job!”

The twins beeped happily and returned to their rations. Megatron couldn’t stop smiling as he sipped his ration.

“You know there is an old friend’s of Optimus’ that arrived with the neutrals and I think you should meet with him. He might have some gossip on that bunch.”

Soundwave shook his helm with a chuckle. “If you are referring to Ricochet, well, he came to me and we have found a project to work on together, so relax; we will let you know if there is anything you should be aware of.”

Megatron’s smile widened but the smile on Soundwave’s face shattered and anger filled his optics. His cube hit the table, nearly spilling its contents and he was up and moving towards the door. There was a slight pause in his steps as he swept up his mask and slapped it on, hard enough to make both Megatron and Optimus wince.

“Soundwave? What happened?” Megatron asked.

“Someone has attacked Laserbeak,” he said before he stalked out the door leaving in his wake stunned silence.


	10. Flitter's Wings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter takes place towards the end of the previous chapter as we find out what Laserbeak has been up to.
> 
> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and as always, feedback is encouraged and appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!

Jazz tapped one pede to the beat playing in the club as he leaned against the bar gazing out at the three distinct groups clustered in the area. He ex-vented and took another swallow of the high-grade, of course he had already turned on the program to filter it out so that the best he could achieve was a slight loosening of his cables and wasn’t that a pity too. 

:Anything going on out there, Flitter?:

:No, but I think most of our targets are at your location.:

:Yeah, the slaggers are here all bunched up like they are expecting the ‘Bots and ‘Cons to try and steal their spark or something. Course our own respective former factions are doing the same fragging thing. You’d think there would be a little more partying going on, what with the war being over and all.:

The tittering laughter of the symbiote had him curling his own lip up into a grin. At least until a flash of movement caught his optics and he watched as Starscream pushed away from his table and held up a servo to his companions. Meanwhile at the table of neutrals, he watched as several of them dropped their hands down to clutch desperately at their weapons. Blurr interrupted his study of the situation as he swept the bar down near him.

“Need anything else, Ricochet?”

“Nah, I’m good. My complements to you,” he said as he tipped his glass towards the mech, “best high-grade I’ve had in a long time. Tell me though, is it always like this? I mean, three distinct knots of mecha?”

The former racer nodded as he rested one arm on the wide surface of his bar. “Yeah, it used to be just two but with the arrival of your people, well, now we got three. How come you never came in before?”

“Sparkling duty, which as far as I can tell is way more fun than this bunch of sad mecha. And what is up with Getaway and Atomizer over there? Do they think Screamer is gonna swoop down on them and attack them?”

The laughter from Blurr had him smiling. “Yeah those two are so gun happy I make sure they have their weapons locked down when they come in. And yes, they always act like that, though I think that fraggin seeker knows it and does it just to torment them.”

Jazz grinned and his laughter joined with the bartender’s. “Who needs vids when I can watch drama and comedy all in one spot! Primus, they do a better job of mingling at the commissary than they do at a bar! What is up with these mecha?”

Blurr leaned a little closer. “Seriously? They mingle when they pick up rations?”

“Yup, at the mid-day one at least, though I think the twins bring that out in everybot. Everyone wants to interact with them and those bitlets just zoom around doing a meet and greet like tiny vid stars! Haven’t you gone over there for one?”

“Nah, I’ve been too busy getting this place ready to open and well, now I’m usually in recharge or prepping for opening it up for the night. Maybe I should hire them to come in here and work their magic. Primus only knows I need something to get these afts to do something besides brooding in their little groups.”

Jazz grinned and nodded at the bright blue bot. “You could ask Prime about it, try and sell it as a dance party and promise not to serve high grade.” 

Blurr’s smiled widened. “You know that might work. I guess I should force myself up and go see our resident stars and ask Prime about doing his civic duty to get our people socializing properly. Ah, I see a customer heading this way. Catch you later, Ricochet.”

“See ya, Blurr.”

Jazz took another sip of his drink and watched as the mini-bot picked his way towards them. The glances back towards his partner he had left at the table earned him a reassuring nod and he continued forward until he reached them.

“Hey there, Rewind, isn’t it? What can I get you?”

“Um, nothing actually - I was hoping to talk to Ricochet actually.”

Jazz took another swig of his drink. “Sure thing, mech. Whatcha need?”

“Actually, could you come talk with us at our table?”

He snagged his drink and gestured with his free hand. “Of course. Lead the way.”

There was no face per say on the mini-bot, well, at least not exposed but he could tell that Rewind was at least pleased at his response as his steps were more confident on the return trip to his table. His companion was similarly concealed with a mask, but he knew him by sight at least - Chromedome was one of his targets as both he and Soundwave had him on their short list of potential advisors for Metalhawk. Rewind hopped up onto the chair next to him and slid his hand over towards Chromedome who covered it with his own. Well, they were unsure about something, Jazz thought to himself. He hoped they weren’t going to ask him for a threesome - that was just not who this particular persona was, which was a shame.

“What can I do for you two?” Jazz asked as he leaned towards the couple.

“We - uh,” Rewind said before glancing up at Chromedome who gently squeezed the servo he was holding.

“We were hoping you would introduce us to Prime,” Chromedome said with a nod of his helm.

“Mechs you don’t need me for that -”

“According to the archives, and was I ever glad to see they had managed to save a copy of it - well, a blessing from Prime - this one anyway is personal so it’s best if you have a personal introduction,” Rewind said.

Jazz canted his helm to one side as he studied the pair. They were up to something and he wasn’t going to let anything be a surprise for his Prime.

“And why do you need a personal blessing?”

“I heard that you’ve said that you were old friends, you do know him, right?” Chromedome asked.

“I am. I knew him before he was Prime - I ask again, why?”

“We want him to ask Primus to bless us with a newspark,” Rewind said in such a soft sad voice that he felt like he had stepped on somebody’s pet cyber-kitten. 

“Oh. Yeah, I can see why you would want to go to him for that.”

“We had never had much hope, I mean there hadn’t been any newsparks since long before the war, but they have two with a third growing. If Primus doesn’t favor him, than -” Chromedome’s voice tapered off.

“No Prime has ever had his favor, am I right?” Jazz asked.

“Exactly!” Rewind exclaimed. “Will you help us?”

Jazz turned towards Chromedome. “I thought you were on Metalhawk’s list of advisors? He ain’t gonna like it if you have to take time off - not at least from what I can see from how he questions Prime and Megatron all the time.”

“I know and that’s why I told him that I didn’t want the position full-time - that Rewind and I had some personal things to handle. He wasn’t happy about it, but I know he asked Getaway to take my spot instead and as you can see from the way they are celebrating over there, he said yes,” Chromedome said as he tilted his head towards the mech in question.

And that was one part of a puzzle that Jazz had needed so he gave them a smile. “So I assume you want a private meeting.”

“Yes, please,” Rewind said and the excitement was unmistakable in his voice.

“Right then. Let me check with him and I’ll get back to you - give me your comm codes and I’ll call you when he can meet you. Yes, I’m that sure that he will agree to help you as best as he can. Prime is one of those rare bots who would give you the plating off his back if he could.”

“Thank you so much! You don’t know how much this means to us!” Rewind gushed as he bounced in his chair.

He accepted the pings and made note of the frequency before he gave them both another smile.

“Mechs like you deserve some happiness, I’m happy to help how I can.”

He plucked up his glass of high-grade as he stood up and held it out towards the couple. “Here’s to newsparks!”

“Newsparks,” the pair said together.

It was nice to think that at least a few of their people seemed less interested in gaining power and more interested in bringing something good back into their personal life. He made his way back to his stool and his optics caught Getaway and his companion staggering to their feet. Well, it looked like the trigger happy couple was heading home. And that had an idea forming in his processor, not great, but it was at least something that might give him some ammo to work with.

:Hey Flitter, you still out and about?:

:For the moment, I’m nearly finished with my patrol and I have sparklings and goodies to look forward to!:

:Oh sure, rub that in. You’ll be happy to know that I just got confirmation that Getaway and not Chromedome is one of Metalhawk’s Council. So now we just got to figure out who else is part of his team, I’m guessing Atomizer. And those two just staggered out of here and they are both currently overcharged and are a tad jumpy especially towards former ‘Cons. I have an idea, but it could be dangerous for you -:

:What is it?:

He ex-vented and took another sip of his drink. :They are probably heading home and if say a small former Decepticon were to go buzzing by them -:

:I know where you are going with this, but besides potentially getting me shot, what good does this do us?:

:Well, I trust you are better than that, but if either of them even just fires their weapon within the colony limits, then we can twist that to run a smear campaign - I mean supposedly pacifist neutrals shooting up the night, really how horrid is that! However, if they actually aim at someone - well, attempted murder will get you banned from public office. With everyone’s slate getting cleaned off when they joined us we got slim pickings for how to knock these bots off the campaign trail since I’m not allowed to put a knife in their spark.:

:Fine, I’ll go looking for the slaggers. Dumping my log of our conversation. Don’t contact me again.:

:Good mech! I’ll head on out the door as well so I can be nearby if anything goes wrong.:

:Understood. Laserbeak, out.:

He drained the last of his glass as the channel closed.

“Have a good night, Blurr.”

“You too, Ricochet.”

“Call me Rico, all my friends do anyway.”

“Sure thing, Rico. At least you seem willing to socialize with others, a nice change from most of the neutrals.”

Jazz gave him a wide smile. “I’m a trader, got to be willing to chat with everyone if you hope to make a sale.”

“Very true,” Blurr said with a laugh and a wave.

Jazz nodded and said his good nights to those that he passed. He stopped once he was outside and paused to stare up at the night sky. Knowing that cameras were watching him, he stretched before transforming. He headed towards his apartment building at a leisurely speed but all his focus was on his sensors that he had set at maximum range. He hadn’t gone far when he picked up the unmistakable sound of gunfire, but it wasn’t just one shot - there were several of them. Swearing at himself, his wheels spun as he shot towards the location of the salvo he had heard. Not bothering to stop he shifted back to root mode and tumbled to a stop near a corner with his blaster in hand. He peered around the corner and found Getaway and Atomizer standing with their weapons out glaring up at the sky. Well, there was no little frame lying on the ground so hopefully Flitter had at least escaped serious harm so he crept around the corner.

“What the frag is going on? I heard shots!”

Their guns swung towards him but they put them up when they recognized him.

“That fragging Decepticon flying menace just attacked us!” Getaway snarled.

“Who, Starscream?”

Atomizer shook his helm but never stopped scanning the sky. “No that little drone of Soundwave’s. I think I might have winged it.”

Jazz mentally slapped his hand over his face. These idiots were about to get a rude awakening. He honestly had thought this plan would be a long shot, but the pair had played beautifully into his servos, or would it be Flitter’s wings? And there, he heard the siren of an enforcer, engine roaring as they closed in on this spot. He put his blaster up, not wanting to get shot by Prowl or worse, arrested. That slagger would like nothing better than to throw him in a cell for even a breem. 

The wait wasn’t long before the flashing lights lit up the night as Prowl skidded to a stop before he transformed and stalked towards them. His optics narrowed as he took in Ricochet who gave him a weak smile.

“What is going on here?”

“We were attacked by Soundwave!” Getaway growled.

“Yeah, lock up that menace!” Atomizer added with a nod.

One orbital ridge arched upward in obvious disbelief. “Interesting accusation, especially since Laserbeak just contacted me and stated that he had been attacked while doing his patrol.”

The roar of thrusters overhead brought all their helms up and they watched as Soundwave circled overhead before dropping down in his robot mode with a loud thunk. Laserbeak dove down and landed on the larger mech’s shoulders and baleful red optics regarded the gathering of mecha. The slender mech took one step towards the neutrals and one digit wavered between the pair. Jazz had to give it to them, the pair didn’t step backwards, bigger bots than them had retreated before the threat of the former gladiator. 

“Arrest: Attempted Murder.”

“What? You attacked us you flying piece of scrap!” Getaway snarled.

“Yeah, arrest him!” Atomizer said.

“Enough!” Prowl barked out. “You two move over there away from the crime scene and hand me your weapons. Soundwave, take Laserbeak to be checked over and tell Ambulon to send me a report on his findings. You there,” one digit pointed at Jazz, “do something useful and shine your high beams in this area.”

Soundwave kept his visor aimed at the two neutrals for a moment longer before he finally transformed and shot off towards the medical center with Laserbeak right beside him. Getaway and Atomizer shared a glance before handing him the items as requested. Jazz moved a little ways away so he could shift to his alt form once more.

“Sure, cuz you asked so nicely,” Jazz muttered to himself as he walked.

“Would you prefer some alone time in a cell instead?”

He shook his helm and transformed once more, of course if his high beams happened to catch Prowl straight in the optic that was just a happy accident!

“Not at me you idiot, over there,” Prowl said, pointing at a wall.

He rolled back a little in order to hit the new spot and watched as Prowl slowly walked along, but even from here he could see scorch marks from a blaster. The enforcer continued moving about the area studying every mark before examining the weapons in his hands and then turned to the pair.

“You are both going to need to come down to the station with me. All evidence points to the only ones shooting as being you two. See here and here, the angle of the marks indicate someone was firing from the ground up, not the other way around. Ambulon will examine Laserbeak’s weapons as well, but I doubt he will find that they have been used recently. For now, you both are being held until I finish investigating all the evidence.”

Just as Jazz had begun to transform, Metalhawk strode into the area. Ah, the two neutrals had called in their big gun. Fat lot of good that would do them, now that Prowl had them in his crosshairs.

“What do you think you are doing?” 

“My job,” Prowl said as he clasped an arm from each of his suspects.

The flyer stopped in the trio’s path with his hands on his hips.

“I don’t think your job entails detaining this colony’s citizens without just cause. Release them at once!”

“All evidence points to them firing on Laserbeak and we are going down to the station so I can take a closer look at all the evidence. If they wish to clear their names faster then they can release their memory files -”

“What right do you have to suggest such a thing!”

“It is their choice to allow it for their defense; Laserbeak has already agreed to share his files once he has been released by the medic.”

Prowl tilted his head and then took a firmer grasp on the pair’s arms. “Ah, Ambulon just commed me that he has some minor scorching but fortunately nothing serious and will meet us at the station.” 

Metalhawk’s optics narrowed and Jazz could swear he could hear the yelling that he was doing at the pair being held as they both sagged a little from their previous up-right stance. Yep, wouldn’t want to be them.

Prowl escorted the two mechs down the road, while Metalhawk fell in behind him. Jazz was about to scoot off and celebrate in private when one golden servo waved him over.

“What part do you have in this whole thing?”

“Innocent by-stander. I had just left the bar when I heard shots being fired and thinking we were under attack I hurried over to where I heard it, but I’ll just head on home if you don’t mind.”

Not missing a beat, Prowl yelled over his shoulder. “No you won’t; as first on scene I need a statement from you.”

He let his helm slump but dutifully followed the rest of the group. By the time they had reached the station, numerous mecha had begun to gather around them. Prowl turned to face the on-lookers.

“Go home. We don’t need bots hanging around outside here. I’m detaining all parties until I have all the evidence necessary to make a decision on who is going to be arrested and what charges they face.”

With that said, Prowl herded his little group inside and shut the door. A few vehicons sat up straighter at their desks and one bot that Jazz had hoped wouldn’t be here - Ultra Magnus - probably the only other mech who enjoyed enforcing the rules as much as Prowl. He slunk over to a chair and hunkered down even though his battle protocols offered up helpful advice on how to escape. Nope, escaping meant that Prowl would happily arrest him for leaving the scene or some other stupid slag later, better to just get it over with now.

“Ultra Magnus, will you take Getaway and Atomizer - separate them and start getting their statements -”

“I’m going as well, if nothing else, as their legal advisor.”

“Fine, take Metalhawk as well. I’ll interview Laserbeak and Soundwave when they arrive.”

Prowl’s optics took in Jazz’s frame slumped in a chair. “You, no recharging there.” He grabbed a datapad off a desk, powered it up and tossed it over to Jazz. “Fill that out. Completely. Steve and Lucky - watch him and check his weapon while you are at it. And then make sure he doesn’t leave until I can interview him and only allow Soundwave and Laserbeak in.”

“Got it, boss.”

Jazz turned his optics downward as everyone moved into action. He wanted to rail at the unfairness of the galaxy when he saw the report had five screens. Steve strode over to him and he ex-vented as he pulled his gun free and handed it over. Next up, he needed to fill out this spawn of Unicron report. Pulling the stylus free, he got to work. As he reached the bottom of the first screen, the sound of the door sliding open drew his helm upward and he watched as Soundwave stalked in, Laserbeak zooming around his host’s helm. That expressionless mask turned towards him and he could feel the reproach coming off the other mech and he cringed a little; yep, Soundwave was beyond fragged off and he suspected that he was gonna catch some of that later. Well, no recharge for him after this, he knew he had better head to Prime’s building and make things right with Soundwave and he could use his visit with Prime as a reason to be there. Prowl’s optics must have caught that little interaction because one corner of his mouth ticked upward just a tiny bit. Prowl had suspected he was involved with what had happened and now he had more ammunition. Ah, well, those two were as much professional spies as he was and Prowl wouldn’t get the truth out of either of them.

“Soundwave, Laserbeak, if you’ll follow me I’ll take your statements. Getaway and Atomizer are being interviewed by Ultra Magnus right now, so we will get to the bottom of this.”

With a stiff nod of his helm, Soundwave followed behind the white and black mech and the three of them disappeared into another room. Under the vehicons watchful gaze, he started once more on the report. 

By the time he finished the whole slagging report, there were some serious kinks in his neck cables. He stood up and with a groan tossed the finished pad over onto the desk nearest to him.

“There it’s done. That had to have been the longest thing I’ve had to fill out in vorns!”

Steve nodded. “Yeah the boss likes to be through. Just wait there until he is ready to see you.”

He returned to his chair and shuttered his optics as he tuned his sensors to pick up anything unusual. Some muffled shouting coming from the rooms where he had seen the neutrals disappear into, but otherwise quiet ruled the building. He heard a door opening and the steady steps of several mecha, Prowl and Soundwave it had to be. He onlined his optics just as Soundwave swept out the door, but this time the symbiote was in its proper dock. Prowl marched right up to him and crooked one finger at him.

“Alright you, let’s get your statement over with.”

“There is his report and his gun hadn’t been fired.” 

Prowl nodded towards the vehicon. “Thank you, Steve. We’ll be in the back room if you need me.”

“Yes, sir.”

Jazz pushed to his feet and stepped up to Prowl’s side. “Let’s get this over with so I can go home and get some recharge.”

There was a non-committal grunt but the enforcer walked down a hallway, passing by a doorway where even now he could hear muted talking. At a look from Prowl though, he kept on moving and followed the Praxian into a room several doors down. Prowl shut the door behind them and pointed to a chair.

“Sit and tell me exactly what you were doing there.”

He flung himself into the indicated spot and gave the other mech an innocent smile.

“Innocent by-stander, like I said before.”

That drew a snort of amusement. “You haven’t been innocent since the breem after you were constructed.”

He let hurt seep into his face before answering. “I left Blurr’s and was heading home when I heard gunfire. Afraid that we might be under attack, I rushed over there and found Getaway and Atomizer pointing their weapons skyward and they said that they had been attacked.”

“And who did they say attacked them?”

“That flying Decepticon menace - which I took to mean Starscream cuz I saw them practically jump to their pedes in the bar when he stood up and began waving his servo about to his companions. They then told me no, they had meant Soundwave. I of course didn’t say that if Soundwave had attacked them I would have found bits of them everywhere, but I never saw that mech anywhere near there, at least not until after you showed up. So you see innocent by-stander. Can I go now?”

“And that’s it?”

“Yep.”

“Fine. But if you think of anything else, you come to me directly, understood?”

“Got it.”

He scrambled up and was out the door before Prowl had even gotten to his pedes. No way was he waiting for an escort home, or some such slag, not when he had another destination in mind. He gave the vehicons a wave as he passed through the lobby and threw himself into vehicle mode and accelerated away. Rounding the corner, instead of turning towards his building, he headed for Prime’s and opened a channel.

:Hey Flitter, are you guys back in your quarters?:

:Yes, and Soundwave has requested I add him to our channel.:

:Yeah, that’s fine. I’ll be there in a breem.:

:Is that wise?: Soundwave asked and some of the anger he expected could be heard in his voice.

:I got a legitimate reason to see Prime, but I think we need to clear the air between us first.:

:Agreed,: Soundwave said and then the channel closed.

He sped up a little since most bots were in for the night making the roads rather empty. He stopped in front of the building and shifted back to his bipedal form. His gaze drifted upward and he saw that the lights were on in Soundwave and Prime’s quarters still, locking down his battle protocols - because that was the last thing they needed, a full on fight between them - he stepped up to the door, which swung open at his approach. Soundwave must have been watching for him.

He jogged through the lobby and up the stairs, stepping carefully as he did so in order to minimize the sound he was making. Arriving at the top, he found Soundwave waiting in his doorway for him; at least the mask was off. Of course, that meant he could see the scowl aimed at him.

“Is Flitter okay?”

“Now you ask?” Soundwave asked as he took a step towards him.

Before he could reply, tentacles had grabbed him by the hands. He let himself hang limply in their grasp and he scowled back at the taller mech.

“I’ll give you this, this one time; but don’t every grab me again unless you mean for this association to end in a violent way. Got it?” Jazz snarled.

Laserbeak shot out of the flat and buzzed angrily around their heads.

:Enough! Soundwave, I told you this was my decision. He didn’t make me and warned me that they were a bit jumpy around former Decepticons.:

“I did and I expected him to dodge better,” Jazz said with a nod.

Soundwave’s tentacles released him and retreated back into wherever he kept the things while Jazz crossed his arms across his chassis.

:I could have, but I thought it would sell better if they managed to land a hit, so I let one shot graze my wing. That was my decision - not his.:

“He is mine to protect so never put him in such a situation again without letting me know,” Soundwave said.

Jazz tilted his helm up towards Laserbeak. “You didn’t tell him what we were up to?”

:No, and I am sorry, but there was no time. I found them far faster than I expected and I didn’t want any communication besides the ones he had been sharing with me all evening to be in my logs. I showed Prowl the images Soundwave had been transmitting to me all night along with the surveillance of my area. I was just lucky to catch them before they left my assigned quadrant. It would have been far harder to explain if I was out of my area when I ran into them.:

A long ex-vent left Soundwave and his anger seemed to escape along with it.

“My apologies, Jazz. I had assumed that you left me out of the loop intentionally.”

“Yeah, I get that mech. I didn’t and I was first on the scene for a reason, just in case he needed extraction. I don’t let my agents do a mission without backup if I can help it. Are we good then? Cuz I still got to talk to Prime before I leave.”

“Yes. I have to ask though, will Prowl actually charge them or will he treat Laserbeak as a drone as those two called him?”

“I think he’ll do right by him, if nothing else than because enforcing the rules is a big thing with him, of course I don’t think he’s overly fond of Metalhawk and his minions as well. And if worse comes to worse, you can go to Prime and he’ll ask Prowl to explain his reasons for not charging them appropriately.”

Soundwave nodded. “Good. We will come down with you. I’m afraid I left their quarters rather suddenly and I’ve been answering Megatron’s questions with silence.”

Jazz chuckled as they headed back down the stairs. “You know, I think you’re the only mech who could get away with that.”

Soundwave’s gave him a serene looking smile. “Most likely. But I just informed him that we are heading their way now.”

The door to their leader’s quarters stood open and Laserbeak zoomed in ahead of them and they could only smile at the squeals of delight from the sparklings that echoed down the corridor.

“Careful, see he has an injury on his wing,” Prime said.

Jazz poked his head around the frame. “Knock, knock.”

Blue and red optics widened as Soundwave and Jazz stepped through the door together. 

“Uh, is there something going on that we need to know about?” Optimus asked, his optics fixed on Jazz.

Jazz grinned. “Nope. Just a coincidence, I’m here to broker a request for you from a couple of neutrals is all. It’ll only take a minute.”

“Oh, alright then, what is it?”

“It’s uh, personal, perhaps in the hallway.”

“Beep beep?”

Jazz turned towards where the twins had their arms full of Laserbeak who didn’t seem to mind in the least. He dropped to one knee and grinned at them.

“Hey there bitlets, caught yourself a trespasser did ya? Better hang onto him and maybe feed him a few energon goodies, he looks a little scrawny to me.”

:Hey, I resent that. I’m streamlined, thank you very much!:

The pair laughed and pointed up at the box on the table above them. “Treat?”

“Yes, I suppose you did put a few aside for him so I guess we should make sure he gets them,” Megatron said.

Jazz patted the little helms before standing up and walking out into the hall with Optimus following behind him.

“I thought you were going to have to stay away -”

“Yeah, but I got a request from a couple tonight, they asked me to ask you if you would give them Primus’ blessing - they are hoping for a newspark.”

“Oh. I have never had that asked of me before. I am not sure -”

“OP, if anyone has an in with Primus, it’s you - I mean look at this way, you have a pair of sparklings and another behind your spark. Primus will listen to you about this, trust me on this.”

Prime’s smile was warm and his optics twinkled with humor. “Thank you, I am sure you are right as always.”

“Exactly. Now when do you want to do this, totally up to you, I told them I would let them know when it was good for you.”

“Might as well do it soon before something else happens. Tell them to come with you tomorrow morning; we will share morning rations first.”

“You sure?”

“Yes, and this way I can get to know them a little first.”

Jazz clapped a hand over his friend’s arm. “You’re a good mech. I’ll let them know and see you tomorrow.”

“As are you. Tell me, was it really just a coincidence that you both walked in here together.”

Jazz began walking backwards in the hall with a grin on his face, heading towards the stairs down. “Of course, me and Soundwave working together - perish that thought!”

Optimus shook his head. “He already outed your alliance.”

He threw his hands up in the air. “Not to worry, bossbot, we got everything under control! Gotta motor, see ya tomorrow!”

He hummed a tune as he made his escape down the stairs, leaping down large chunks of them at a time. He opened a channel to Chromedome as he traveled.

:Hey there, Prime says to come to his place tomorrow morning for first energon. He wants a chance to chat with you two first. I’ll meet you both at their building and provide the introductions.:

:Oh my! So soon. I’ll let Rewind know and we’ll see you tomorrow. Thank you again, Ricochet!:

:Glad to help.:

The evening had gone better than he had expected, well once Soundwave had been calmed down. He could understand the mech’s anger; he had lost all of his symbiotes but Laserbeak and had assumed the worse. Shaking his head, he exited the building and resumed a more normal pace. Transforming once again, he began to make his way towards his building. An incoming ping from Metalhawk had him wondering what was up now.

:Hey, Metalhawk, you get everything sorted out with Getaway and Atomizer?:

:No, that Primus damned mech is charging them with attempted murder! Where are you?:

:Heading home now, since the station was closer to Prime’s place, I stopped by there first to take care of a request from Chromedome and Rewind.:

Turning the corner, he saw the bright yellow mech swivel to face him. Slowing down, he transformed and strode over to him.

“Is there a problem?”

“Let’s go inside. I’d rather not discuss anything out here in the open.”

“Of course. You’ll have to excuse the mess, I’ve been going through my stock and trying to figure out what to trade it all for so my living area is a bit chaotic,” Jazz said as he walked up to the entrance and keyed in his code. 

The door swung open and he waved Metalhawk inside. He’d taken over a small shop that had living quarters above it. The lights flickered on and he headed into the main area before climbing up the set of stairs that led to his personal space. Samples and crates were scattered about the area and Jazz cleared off a chair for Metalhawk who sat gingerly in it.

“Can I get you anything?”

“No, thank you. Now what is Chromedome up to with Prime?” Metalhawk asked and there was a heavy dose of suspicion laced in his voice.

Jazz gave him a smile. “Oh, nothing sinister that’s for sure. He and Rewind just wanted me to set up a meeting with Prime so they could ask him to bless them.”

Orbital ridges climbed upward as Metalhawk stared at him. “Whatever for?”

“They are hoping a blessing from him will get a newspark for them is all.”

Long tapered fingers rubbed at Metalhawk’s face. “Seriously? They think that Prime has some sort of well, magic that can do that?”

Jazz shook his helm. “If anyone does, it would be him. They have two framed and a third developing now. From everything I’ve ever heard that is a miracle all by itself.”

Bright blue optics narrowed as they studied Jazz. “I suppose that is true, but I am disappointed that he turned down serving his world for such a futile hope. And now, Getaway and Atomizer are being charged with attempted murder. Murder! Of a drone no less!”

Jazz let a slight tremble course through his frame. “Listen I saw Soundwave come stalking into the station, I don’t think he agrees with your description of his minion there and I for one wouldn’t want to challenge him about that. I’m sorry to hear about them getting into trouble though; perhaps you can sell it as being overcharged which made them a little unstable?”

The flyer ex-vented before he gave a slight nod. “Perhaps, if only they hadn’t let their guns do the talking we might have been able to charge Laserbeak with harassment or something instead. Ah, well, I’ll study the old laws and see what I can come up with for their defense but it is a moot point as of now as I am short one councilor.”

“Yeah and I don’t think Chromedome will change his mind.”

A servo cut off that thought with a quick flick. “I wouldn’t want him now anyway. But that is an opportunity for you, if you’re interested.”

“I am. What do you need me to do?”

“Keep out of trouble and be willing to work with your fellow councilors, no matter who they are.”

“Well, sure, who exactly will that be?”

“Zetca, Sky-Byte and Onslaught,” Metalhawk said with a smug expression.

“Holy frag, wait, isn’t he a Decepticon?”

“Former, he and his gestalt renounced them long ago and he has agreed to swear loyalty to me for a seat on the Council. A combiner that is loyal to me is worth a great deal, don’t you agree?”

“Yes it is. I figured Zetca and Sky-Byte would be two of them, but I never would have guessed you managed to get Onslaught to work with us. It’s brilliant and not to worry, I can work with him.”

Metalhawk stood up and gave him a nod. “Excellent. Tailgate has tomorrow off so bright and early we’ll put our designations in and then the real work begins.”

“Right, I’ll be introducing Chromedome and Rewind to Prime first thing tomorrow, but as soon as I’m done, I’ll let you know.”

Jazz numbly followed behind the other mech and gave him a smile and wave as he left. How had they missed this? He opened the channel to Soundwave and Flitter.

:Better sit down, mech - have I got a bomb for you. Onslaught is the last member of Team Metalhawk. I know you had to have been watching him and I had kept my audials open as well; so how did he get around us?:

:He must have used intermediaries knowing he was being closely monitored. How did you find this out?: Soundwave asked.

:Well, I’m on the team now, but Onslaught agreed to swear loyalty to Metalhawk for a seat. How likely is he to honor that?:

:Honestly, only as long as it takes him to get to the top of the heap.:

:Right then. We got our work cut out for us.:

:Agreed. Be careful, Onslaught is smart and very dangerous.:

:Awww you do care!:

The tittering laughter of Flitter over the channel had him grinning as well. 

:He ain’t the only one dangerous and so long as my cover remains intact, I can get the drop on him. Well, this will be fun, won’t it?:

:That’s not how I would’ve termed it. Let me know if you need anything and good luck.:

:Thanks. I think we’ll all be needing some of that before this is over.:

He shut the channel and headed back upstairs towards his berth and fell into it. Tomorrow was shaping up to be quite the ride. Thankfully, that had always been one of his strong suits. He shuttered his optics and tried not to dwell on worst case scenarios. Maybe he should ask Optimus for a blessing as well, having Primus on their side might be just the thing they needed. He snorted a soft laugh at that thought. No, that would make OP ask why and well, he wasn’t going to stress out Prime, not while he had a little newspark attached to his own. Nope, he’d never relied on their gods before and he wasn’t going to start now. Besides, he had Soundwave and Flitter for back-up - it was still a novelty to think the former head of spies for the ‘Cons was now his ally. His lips curled into a feral smile, and if all else failed a shot to the spark would end the gestalt threat.


	11. Blessings

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for the delay, simply put 'shit happened'. 
> 
> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and as always feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!

Optimus glanced over and smiled at the dimly lit optics of the twins where they lay sprawled along Megatron’s arm. The pair had been most insistent on being carried as soon as they had been awakened. Shaking his head, he turned back to finish gathering up the energon they all would need to start the day.

“I wonder when Laserbeak finally managed to escape their grasp last night.”

The silver mech gave a soft laugh. “Late would be my guess, I honestly didn’t think they were going to let go of him.”

“Yes, I think that they thought that if they had hold of him then nothing else could happen to him. Thankfully, he agreed to join them in their berth otherwise I am not sure what we would have done when they started to make those sad little beeps again. It was distressing not only to ourselves but to the newspark as well.”

Dark blue optics brightened on the two even though they didn’t move from their current position draped across their creator’s arm.

“Beak?”

“No, he isn’t here, but we’ll go see him in a little while,” Megatron said as he gazed down at his armful of sparklings. 

Optimus nodded as he placed rations on their table and poured some into the twin’s special cubes. “Ricochet and some new mecha for you to meet will be here shortly to join us for energon, well, assuming you two wake up enough to have any.”

A snort of amusement left the former warlord. “Yes, and if this blessing thing works, I predict our mornings will be a lot busier.”

Prime smiled at the other mech. “And that is not a bad thing. I have often thought that Primus blessed you with those two just to help end the war. I think more like them would be a good thing, especially as Primus has given no indication on when or where I will find the AllSpark yet.” 

Megatron sent his gaze skyward although a smile remained on his lips. “Someone save me from meddling gods.”

An incoming ping from Jazz had Optimus walking over to the console where he activated the camera to find Jazz and his guests standing at the front door. He sent the command to unlock the door and waited until the trio had cleared the door before locking it and shutting the console off once more.

“They are on their way up now. Are you two ready to wake up now?”

Muffled meeps could be heard as the two sparklings clung tighter to Megatron’s arm and buried their faces against his chassis.

“Hmm, don’t think they will be eating anytime soon, better close the tops on their rations and I’ll take them with me when I go up to Soundwave’s.”

“Good idea.”

He was still closing the little cubes up when a rap of a hand against the door rang out in the area.

“I’ll get it,” Megatron said as he strode to the door.

Balancing the twins on his one arm, he used his other one to throw it open. Jazz stood in front of two other mechs, one tall and slender while the other one was considerably smaller.

“Come in, I’m afraid the twins are not really awake yet and are refusing to be put down.”

Blue and gold optics brightened as they took in the tiny frames clinging to their creator’s arm.

“Oh my, Domey look at them! They are even more amazing up close than I imagined,” the smallest member of the group said.

“Megatron, Optimus - this is Rewind and I think the sparklings have stunned Chromedome there into silence. As much as I would love to stay, I’ve gotta motor and go catch up with Metalhawk and get to Tailgate before he gets swarmed under.”

All optics shifted towards the red mech who quirked his head with a grin at their stares.

“I didn’t realize you part of his list of Councilors,” Chromedome said.

Jazz shook his head. “I wasn’t originally but I’m afraid Getaway and Atomizer got overcharged last night and did something that rendered them unable to run for office. That is when Metalhawk approached me and I agreed to join his team. Anyway, these two are good sparks, Optimus, I’m sure Primus will look out for them.” With a wave and a smile, Jazz strolled back out the door.

Prime kept the smile on his face but he had a sneaky suspicion that his old friend had a servo in that, of course that meant that Laserbeak wasn’t quite the innocent victim he seemed to be. He glanced over at Megatron and from the smirk hovering on that mech’s face meant he had put it all together as well and most likely approved.

“Please join us for some energon -”

The pair shared a look before they both dipped their helms a little.

“We already had ours and we didn’t want to offend you by having to use our aids in front of you.”

“I am sorry if you thought that I would be, but know that is not the case. I hope you do not mind if I have mine then while we talk?”

“No, of course not!” the two mechs said nearly at the same time as they moved towards the small table.

Prime smiled and slid into his seat and looked over to find Megatron heading for the door with the twin’s rations disappearing into his subspace. As soon as he reached it, he glanced back and gave Optimus a grin.

“I’ll just take the twins up to visit with Laserbeak, maybe he can get them awake enough to have theirs while you three have your discussion. Send a ping to me when you are ready to head to our office.”

“Of course.”

Optimus picked up his cube and took a sip and a warm pulse of the Matrix let him know that Primus was apparently paying attention as well. He sent a questioning pulse back to it and was rewarded with a simple question - _How will they raise it?_

“Tell me, do you plan on adopting the old ways for any newspark you two might have?”

The smaller bot, Rewind, shrugged his shoulders. “I’m not even sure what they did, do you Domey?”

Chromedome shook his head. “No, they kept them hidden away. I assumed the medics would be able to guide us, that’s whose advice you took, right?”

Another bloom of warmth from the Matrix and he knew their god approved of that answer.

“We did and it quickly became obvious that they were right and sparklings are as much social creatures as adult mecha are. The twins are already starting to talk and they recognize mecha beyond just outside appearances. So of course, we will be happy to impart whatever advice we can as well.”

A soft in-vent from the mini-bot drew Prime’s attention.

“We have a chance then?”

“Primus appears to be pleased with your responses -” Optimus said but paused at another bloom of energy from the artifact and held up his hand. “One moment please.” He turned his attention inward as instructions flashed through his processor. As soon as the artifact went quiet again, he turned his attention towards his guests once more.

“Please sit facing each other, or perhaps Rewind should stand, regardless, you must be able to bring your sparks close together so that the Matrix might give you the blessing you desire.”

Optimus watched as the pair changed positions several times before finally settling on Chromedome kneeling on the floor and Rewind sitting on a chair.

“Excellent. Now reveal your sparks but do not merge, merely bring them close to each other.”

Mechanisms whirred as plates slid apart revealing the sparks of the pair. Prime dropped down to his knees and placed one hand on each mech’s shoulder. He gave his own command and his chest broke apart and the Matrix flared to life bathing all three of them with warmth and light before dimming once more and he sent the command to close his chassis.

“Now go home and share your sparks and the love that Primus has gifted to you.”

The two scrambled to their feet faster than Optimus did and offered a servo to the much larger bot.

“Thank you, I appreciate the offer but I am fine.”

He climbed to his pedes but his guests were already hand in hand standing near the main entryway.

“No, thank you so much!” Rewind said.

“We never had much hope before, but now I know Primus truly is with you.”

A brief wave and then the pair were out the door leaving Optimus to chuckle to himself. “I must remember not to be so literal next time.”

He snatched up his ration and took another long pull from it before opening up a channel to Megatron.

:All finished and they left in a rather big hurry. Did you get the twins to consume their rations?:

The laughter he heard corresponded with the amusement he could feel from the other mech. The bouncing feeling coming from the newspark had him laughing out loud and he knew the twins had felt their sibling’s joy as yet more of that emotion leapt through the bonds they all shared.

:Yes, they did finally. So I take it there will be another newspark shortly after ours is framed?:

:If the haste with which they left was any indication, I would say yes. Are you ready to leave?:

:On our way down and you have excellent timing as Knock Out contacted Soundwave for a bridge while you were busy, they are returning with several frames, not sure if any are complete but he did say we should come see them and decide which one we want for our newspark so they can begin working on it.:

:Oh, that is good news.:

Prime stepped out of their apartment and locked it behind him; already he could hear the footfalls of the other two mechs as they clanged their way down the stairs. He headed out into the stairwell and waited on the landing and it wasn’t long before he heard the whirring of a small engine as Laserbeak came spiraling down the stairwell.

“Feeling better today, I hope?” Prime asked.

:Yes, the scorch mark is nearly fully repaired, thank you!: 

The little flyer spun around his helm and then shot off and back up the way he had just come. Megatron was laughing as he descended down the stairs towards Prime with Soundwave at his side. The twins rode between spikes on those grey shoulders, but their attention was on watching their friend buzz happily around all of them. Megatron paused a moment and Prime fell in beside the silver mech while Soundwave continued on downward.

“Are you going to come with us to see the frames, Soundwave?”

The spiked helm turned to gaze back at him.

“Negative. Laserbeak: accompany?”

“Of course, he is always welcome,” Megatron said.

Soundwave came to an abrupt stop with his pede hovering over the next step down and the pair behind him froze while their optics darted between each other and the slender mech in front of them.

“Soundwave?” Megatron asked even as began to cue up battle protocols.

Their answer was the air raid siren going off even as the blue mech gestured for them to follow him as he leapt down the stairs several at a time.

“How many?” Megatron asked.

“Three. Incoming transmission - _This is the Rally, we are here under invitation from fellow trader, Swindle. Requesting permission to land.”_

Megatron slapped one palm against his faceplate as his engine began to thrum with an angry rumble.

“I swear to Primus that mech is more trouble than his gestalt is worth. Barely here and already he is inviting in Primus only knows what sort of contacts! Optimus, take the twins and go pick out a frame while I have a chat with that menace.”

“I have never dealt with Swindle personally and only know of the rumors -”

“Trust me the rumors don’t do that mech justice - he and any trader he deals with is so far from honorable that I wouldn’t let any of them into the colony if I had a choice. Soundwave, please relay to that ship an appropriate location out at the landing field and make sure they know that if they do not stay where we tell them we will shoot them down. Maybe you can have Laserbeak keep an optic on the situation while I talk with Swindle before he goes to meet up with them.”

Servos gently plucked the sparklings from his shoulders and dropped the pair into Prime’s waiting arms.

“Perhaps I should speak with Swindle -”

“No, you will be too gentle with him and that is not what he responds to and that is stress you don’t need right now. I’ll handle him and meet up with you afterwards.”

The trio stepped into the lobby where the rest of their entourage waited and Prime handed the twins off to the pair of vehicons.

“How bad could he possibly be?”

Megatron laughed and shook his head. “The only reason that mech is still functioning is because Onslaught stopped Brawl from ripping him to shreds after Swindle tried to sell Brawl’s cannon - that was still attached to him.”

Optimus’ mouth hung open and then shut with a snap. 

“You are exaggerating, right?”

“Negative,” Soundwave said with a shake of his helm.

“Nope,” Ping and Dave chorused together. 

“Swindle’s reputation is such that if he is near, you had better hide, lockdown, and threaten him if you want your items to remain in your possession. He has a compulsion to try and sell anything that catches his optic, if not for his gestalt protecting him I believe he would have been off-lined long ago. So yes, scary Megatron is necessary in order to keep him in line.”

“I see. I will let you handle it then.”

Prime stepped outside and transformed, his engine idling as he waited for the twins to be placed inside. Megatron followed suit and hovered nearby as he opened a private channel.

:Onslaught, you and Swindle will come to headquarters immediately - before he goes to meet with the ships that just landed, failure to do so will result in my charging him with endangering the colony with the aim of exiling him.:

:You wouldn’t dare,: the tank growled back.

:Oh, I would. Just remember Prime and I are in charge for several more orns so I’ll have plenty of time to bring him before a court of his peers. I’m sure there are plenty of mecha here who will testify as to Swindle’s propensities for liberating others property. Not to mention that I’m sure Brawl will delight in telling everyone his story as well.:

:We’ll be there.:

As they headed towards the colony’s center, everyone they passed milled about, uneasy even though the sirens had been shut off. Prime opened the emergency channel to the city.

:We have incoming trader ships, the situation is being closely monitored so please go about your business. We will inform you if the situation changes at all.:

“Well, care to place a wager on exactly how long it will take for Metalhawk to show up on our doorstep?” Megatron asked with a harsh laugh.

“That’s not a bet, all you have to do is know his top speed and current location in order to get an estimate,” Dave called out from behind Prime.

“Sadly, I think Dave has the measure of it. So no, I will not be taking you up on that offer,” Optimus said.

They pulled up in front of the central complex while Megatron dropped to the ground, once more in bipedal mode. He swung his helm about and in the distance he could see one large and one smaller bot heading their way. The larger one was dark blue and his confident stride meant it had to be Onslaught while the flashier gold and purple one that hurried along beside him was definitely Swindle. Turning around, he found Prime already standing with the twins in his arms watching him.

“Go on, I’ll catch up. I see them heading this way now,” Megatron said. He ran a fingertip along the tops of the two sparkling’s helms. “You’ll help Optimus pick out a good frame, won’t you?”

The pair beeped and gave him happy nods, he smiled at their enthusiasm and gave Prime a reassuring grin at the concern he saw in other’s optics.

“Don’t worry I won’t cause any bodily harm - this time. But if I don’t threaten him, I fear this sort of thing will only escalate.”

Prime searched his face for a moment before giving him a curt nod and turned towards the door.

“I will let you handle this as you know the parties in question better than I do.”

Megatron turned back towards where he saw the Combaticons and schooled his expression into an unhappy scowl. Thankfully, the pair weren’t slow or else his expression would have been real. Swindle’s helm swung between his gestalt mate and Megatron.

“Why did we have to come here? I have contacts waiting for me.”

“And that is why I summoned you. Who exactly did you invite here and why?” Megatron asked as he narrowed his optics at the smaller mech.

“It’s just Vashik, an old contact of mine and well, we are trading stuff obviously.”

“Why didn’t you just go meet them elsewhere? Inviting them here without approval could have ended badly - you did hear the sirens right?”

Swindle grinned at Megatron. “Well, what I had to trade is here so of course they had to come here. And I didn’t think it would be a big deal. Trade is good after all.”

Fighting the urge to swat the smaller mech into the side of the building, he cycled his vents. “That depends on exactly what you are planning on trading - and that would be?”

“Well, we have all this extra energon now -”

Megatron’s engine rumbled and he held up a servo. “Stop right there. You will not trade this colony’s energon away.”

“But -”

Megatron leaned in towards the mech and narrowed his optics while he let his engine growl louder. “No. It is not yours to trade and should there come a time when we decide to trade it with anyone, it will be done by the government, not by you.”

“Well, Onslaught will be the government soon!”

Megatron cast a glance over at Onslaught. It appeared he was unaware of what his smaller teammate had been up to at least based on the unhappy look on that mech’s face. “Whoever wins the election will still be the body in charge of negotiating something like that. Now to make myself perfectly clear, you will not invite any of your trading partners here without submitting the proper application to the authorities. And under no circumstances will you be allowed to sell off any of Cybertron’s resources for your own personal gain. As much as I would prefer to just rip out your spark and be done with it, we all have to follow rules now. So if you fail to comply, I will be forced to list you as a danger to the colony and you will be banished from Cybertron. Now I want you to go tell your contact out there that you made a mistake and that there is no spare energon for sale here.”

Swindle’s mouth dropped open before it twisted in anger and he pointed a finger at the larger mech. “You can’t get rid of me! You need me to form Bruticus! Tell’em Ons!”

Megatron gave a harsh laugh as Onslaught crossed his arms across his chassis. “I’ll happily do without a combiner if it means I don’t have to worry about you selling us all in our recharge. Go! Get out of here and believe me when I say we are watching you and I will happily exile you from our world if you do not do exactly as I say! And if that doesn’t work, I’ll use a far more direct measure to end your threat myself.”

:Soundwave, bridge them out to the airfield and be aware that Swindle was attempting to sell off our energon.:

:Understood, I’ll keep an optic and audial open then.:

:Thank you. By the way, did you know that they believe that Onslaught will be on the Council?:

The bridge whirled to life near them and Megatron waved a hand towards it. 

“There now go clean up your mess before I do it my way.”

:Onslaught is saying that already?:

:No, but Swindle is.:

:Noted, but yes, we were aware that Metalhawk has made a deal with the Combaticons and are monitoring the situation closely.:

:Good.:

He made sure the pair had disappeared into the vortex before heading for the entrance. He shook his helm at the audacity of Swindle as he made his way to the clinic. His steps lightened as he felt the joy from the rest of his family come through the bond, he had done his best to shield them from his interactions with Swindle but now he could let that barrier down. The soft murmur of voices that he heard before he opened the door had him smiling, but the scene that greeted him when he entered had him laughing and shaking his helm. The twins had surrounded one frame and were patting it urgently as they gazed up at Optimus. It was obvious which one they liked.

“I see they have made their choice,” Megatron said as he took in the line of five tiny frames that lined the table.

“Yes, although I think I agree with them. That one does remind me of them. What do you think?”

He peered down at the sparkless husks and then glanced over at Breakdown where he stood beside Knock Out. With a grin he pointed to the frame at the end, it had thicker legs and arms but what really set it apart was the helm that was nearly identical to the burly blue assistant.

“It looks like a miniature you. Perhaps you modeled for sparkling frames long ago?”

“Ha. Ha.” Breakdown said with a glare thrown at his partner. “Believe me I’ve been hearing that nonstop since we found it.”

The red medic’s grin was wide as he strolled over and took the little frame and put it aside as he placed a tag on it.

“That one is no longer available. We are keeping it for ourselves.”

Megatron’s optical ridges shot up. “Really? Congratulations are in order then?”

“Not yet, but they are coming tomorrow morning for a blessing of their own,” Optimus said with a smile.

“Hopefully that means more playmates for the twins, so I guess we will see you tomorrow. As for the ones that are still available to us, I agree - I think that one is a good choice, it has characteristics from both of the twins.”

“Yes, put that one aside for us, please. I am surprised Metalhawk has not shown up yet.”

Megatron ex-vented. “I doubt Onslaught will call him as he will not want him to know exactly what his gestalt mate has been up to.” At everyone’s quizzical looks he pointed out the door, “Come on, I’ll explain it at the morning meeting.”

Knock Out was the first in the hallway where he paused to turn towards his leaders.

“Well, come on I can’t wait to hear what Swindle has done now and then afterwards I can give the medical update since Ratchet is still gone so I have to fill in for him.”

Megatron carefully plucked the twins who squawked in dismay at being removed from the frame of their future sibling. 

“It needs to remain here so that the medics can ensure it is ready for a newspark and then they will need to allow our color nanites to colonize it as well. I’m afraid you will have to wait a while longer for your sibling.”

Breakdown began packing the miniature Cybertronian frames away in special cases but looked over at Megatron and Prime.

“Speaking of that, come back in a few days and we’ll have the tank ready for your nanites so we can get those growing as well.”

“Excellent, thank you, we will,” Optimus said as he followed the others out into the hallway.

The twins were deposited in Dave’s waiting arms and their creators gave each one a gentle brush along their helm by their fingertip.

“We will see you later after our meeting, be good for your watchers,” Prime said.

The tiny pair chorused a series of beeps up as they waved back at their creators. Megatron watched them go for a few more seconds before plodding down the hall towards the main conference room.

“Do you think Dave and them will find new jobs once you two step down?”

A soft laugh from Prime had the two former Decepticons swiveling to look at him.

“With the possibility of more sparklings on the way, if anything, I think they should expand their venture. After all, it might not be possible for both creators to arrange their schedules as much as we have been able to.” 

“Hopefully the blessing will work for us and then I’ll have a chat with - it’s Raoul who is the official head of that group, right?”

Megatron nodded. “Yes, he is. I’m sure they will be delighted to take on new clients and if nothing else I’ll probably be bringing our three by just to play with any others they are watching at the time.”

The conference room was quiet even though it already contained Starscream, Soundwave, and Prowl. Three helms swiveled at their arrival and they quickly slid into empty chairs.

“So what was that slag about this morning?” Starscream asked.

“Swindle thought he could sell off our energon to some contact of his. I informed him that not only must he fill out an application to bring any outsider here - we do have something for that, right?”

“I’ll make sure we do,” Prowl said.

“Good. I also informed him that he was not allowed to sell off any of Cybertron’s resources for his own personal gain and if he attempted to do so again I would bring him to trial as a threat to the colony in order to banish him.”

An indelicate snort left the seeker. “A shot through the spark would be a better plan, that mech is a danger to us all.”

“Well, I did imply that I would personally destroy him if banishment didn’t stop him. And that brings me to my next question - are any of you planning on running for a seat?”

Starscream’s wings practically vibrated as he nodded. “Yes, I am of course the most logical candidate to lead our people, after all -”

Megatron held up his hand. “Honestly, you don’t have to sell it to us but to everyone out there. What you should know however, is that apparently Metalhawk is already picking out who his council will be. I think you should do the same thing, handpick individuals you can work with and campaign as a unit.”

Prime nodded. “That is an excellent idea and to build on it, perhaps find a few members from the Autobots as well, the only chance you will have of getting elected is if you can get both former Decepticons and Autobots to vote for you.”

The flyer’s optics glanced around the room. “Suggestions on who might be willing to do this?”

Prime shifted his helm to look at his former Second. “Prowl? You are eligible and he will need someone like you to maintain security for the colony. Showing the neutrals that even without us, our former armies can work and coexist together would do much for morale.”

The black and white mech remained silent as his optics shifted around the room, apparently weighing his options. Seeing the other’s hesitancy, Megatron decided he had better sway the enforcer.

“You should also be aware that Metalhawk has reached an agreement with the Combaticons - he plans on Onslaught being a part of his Council. I fear that this morning’s excitement will be repeated once Swindle feels he can exploit his connections,” Megatron said.

Prowl glanced over at the seeker and gave him a nod. “When you put it that way, we must counteract Metalhawk somehow - I will work with Starscream. That is two, we still need three more.”

“Soundwave -” Megatron began.

Soundwave shook his helm slowly. “Soundwave: feared.”

“What about Dreadwing?” Prime asked. “He has shown himself to be honorable and willing to look beyond faction symbols.”

Megatron nodded. “Excellent suggestion. What about Ratchet as well? He is respected by everyone.” The silver mech paused and his gaze locked onto Prime’s. “It would be better if we could get a neutral to join this Council - do you suppose either of the mech’s from this morning would team up with them?”

“Perhaps, but I suppose it depends on whether the blessing worked or not. I would suggest leave asking them for last, however as soon as we hear from Earth I can speak with Ratchet.”

Starscream leaned further onto the table and his optics narrowed. “Blessing?”

With a wide grin Megatron flicked a hand towards Prime, “Prime and the Matrix can apparently _help_ out a couple wanting a newspark of their own.”

Optimus rubbed a hand over his face. “That is simplifying it a bit - Primus worked through the Matrix to give the blessing, I was merely the conduit, but yes, it appears that Primus is willing to give others a chance to create as well.”

A shiny red arm flashed through the air as Knock Out waved towards Optimus with a grin. “And just in time, since Breakdown and I returned with five sparkling frames, of course, three will be spoken for - he and I have an appointment for tomorrow with Prime.”

Starscream’s optics flitted between Prime and the medic for a moment. “Well, I’ll have to remember that for the future. Back to the election, I have a meeting with Dreadwing in a little while to go over the patrol roster, I’ll ask him then. Is there anything else that needs to be discussed?”

Prowl shifted in his seat. “I have two mechs under arrest right now and after discussing it with Ultra Magnus we both think there is sufficient evidence to charge them with attempted murder of Laserbeak. The treaty states that either of you can judge a trial, but with it being the symbiote of one of your former Lieutenants, I would suggest letting Prime preside over the trial.”

Starscream’s optics widened. “Seriously? Someone tried to kill Laserbeak? And you didn’t rip them into pieces, Soundwave? I’m so disappointed!”

Soundwave’s mask revealed nothing as he faced the flyer. “Shot: Grazed. Laws: Obeyed.”

“Yes, and I’m glad that you did, I would not have wanted to lock you up as well,” Prowl said.

“I have no problem with Prime presiding over the trial, I know he will be fair,” Megatron said.

Optimus ex-vented. “Metalhawk will no doubt push for someone else to be the judge, but if we can schedule the trial before we step down, I will do it.”

“Good. He’s already stated he will be their lawyer so I see no reason to delay. Soundwave, you will need to find someone to represent Laserbeak.”

The spiked helm for the stoic mech inclined a fraction. “Negative: Soundwave speaks for Laserbeak.”

“Alright then, I’ll contact him and push for a trial to occur as soon as possible and let you know what is decided.”

“Thank you, Prowl. If there is nothing else -”

Those gathered around the table shook their heads.

“Good. Meeting adjourned. Megatron and I will be in our office going over reports should anyone need us.”

Together they strode out and down the hall heading for the space they shared. The stack of datapads that sat on both of their desks drew groans from them both.

“I agree, I think Starscream likes creating reports even more than Prowl. Thank you for not insisting on judging Laserbeak’s assailants. I know he is one of your oldest friends, but I appreciate your cooperation.”

Megatron gave him a smile. “Of course, I know you don’t have any prejudices against the symbiote. I just hope our people can rally a team that can challenge Metalhawk and his flunkies. I am concerned at what they will do if they gain control.”

A glimmer of worry appeared in Prime’s optics and the answering pulse from the Matrix did little to reassure him. “As do I.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And yes, this Swindle is dedicated to his G1 counterpart who sold his slagged up teammates to a junkyard! : )


	12. Outpost Earth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To try and differentiate between when Earth languages and Cybertronian ones are being spoken, I used the following system:
> 
>  
> 
> _Speech - Earth language_
> 
>  
> 
> Speech - Cybertronian
> 
> Of course Primus speaks in italics as well but I tried to make sure that was obvious. 
> 
> Please feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and as always feedback is appreciated! 
> 
> Enjoy!

Flicking the datapad off, Optimus shuffled the now finished report onto the done pile. Sadly, that was still the smaller stack on his desk. His fingers had just grabbed the next one when Metalhawk swept through the door; outrage sparked from his optics as he glared at the two leaders.

“We had legitimate traders here and you ordered them off before anyone could meet with them!”

Prime’s mouth opened but before he could reply, Megatron had pushed to his feet with an angry snarl.

“Perhaps you should have asked Onslaught about his gestalt mate’s tendencies before you made a deal with him. Swindle counted on his leader’s influence with you while he was attempting to sell off access to our energon to those traders!”

The flyer took a step back and his optics flitted between the two mechs and at Prime’s nod his stance softened just a little.

“You can’t be serious, no one would do that after the shortages we all have survived.”

Megatron’s harsh laughter echoed in the small room. “You really have no idea just how bad Swindle can be, do you? Perhaps you should go ask about how he tried to sell Brawl’s, his gestalt mate no less, cannon that was still attached to him. It’s a legendary tale among my former army and one he survived only because of Onslaught’s intercession.”

“So you say. I’ll investigate this myself and see if you are exaggerating this story.”

The former warlord sank back onto his chair. “Do that and you might want to keep an optic on him while you are at it. Now if you don’t mind, we have lots of reports to go through still.”

Metalhawk stalked out of the room without another word and Megatron happily pushed the door closed with the tip of his pede.

“That took him longer than either of us expected.”

“Yes, and you were correct - it appeared as if Onslaught did not contact him after all. Perhaps that will cause him to rethink his alliance with the Combaticons.”

“Ever the optimist, Optimus. I doubt our luck will hold that far,” Megatron said although the tone was tinged with a certain fondness that had Prime smiling.

“Yes, well, one of us has to be.”

A soft knock on the door brought the discussion to an end and neither of them needed to ask who was there. They both could feel the twin’s anticipation just a short distance from them. Optimus leaned back in his chair and pulled the door open once more. Dave poked his head in first.

“Ready for them, sirs?”

“You have no idea,” Megatron said.

“Yes, we would enjoy some pleasant company,” Optimus said with his hand outstretched.

“Right then. Here you go,” Dave said as he and Ping placed the pair in the waiting servo.

His other hand quickly cupped around the pair as he brought them close to his chest. The smiles from them had him gazing at them with what he was sure a besotted look, but he didn’t care. Their consoles pinged an incoming call and rather than put them down, he let Megatron answer it as he shifted to view who had contacted them. Soundwave appeared on the screen before Megatron.

“Incoming transmission: Earth.”

“Excellent, put it through, please.”

General Bryce stood at attention though he smiled when he saw Megatron with Prime behind him.

_“Hopefully I didn’t catch you at a bad time.”_

_“Not at all, General. The sparklings were just returned to us to help us get through all the reports on our desks,”_ Optimus said. _“We contacted you because we need to broadcast a message to our people stationed there.”_

_“Of course, but I have a better idea - why don’t you come over here and talk with your people directly since I need to introduce you to your new liaison.”_

_“Is there a problem, General?”_ Optimus asked.

There was a slight hesitation before the human spoke. _“My superiors need me to head a new project.”_

 _“I see. We are sorry to see you go, but we will be happy to make the trip.”_ Optimus said.

 _“I’ll have Soundwave send you the coordinates for the Nemesis’s current location and then give us five minutes to get to the portal coordinates,”_ Megatron said.

Prime’s optical ridges quirked upward at the delight in the tone of the former Decepticon.

_“We’ll see you in five minutes then. Earth, out.”_

The connection cut and Optimus chuckled.

“I never thought I would see you excited to return to Earth.”

Megatron grinned at him. “Well, it doesn’t have Metalhawk or Swindle at the moment so yes, sounds like a great place to be for a few hours at least.”

Optimus laughed as he opened a channel to the communications center.

:Soundwave, we will be heading to Earth to meet with our team and the General. Please transmit the ship’s coordinates through to Earth; and then we will need a bridge up to the ship as well.:

:Information relayed. Ground bridge: ready.:

:Thank you.:

“Soundwave is ready to bridge us up,” Prime said and then glanced over at Dave. “You do have some spare rations for the twins with you?” 

“Of course, sir, you never know when you might need some.”

Megatron dug through a cabinet behind him and pulled out several cubes suitable for their frame size and stashed them in his sub space.

“A few for us as well, just in case. Now let’s get out of here before Metalhawk shows up again.”

The little group had barely stepped outside of the complex when the ground bridge swirled to life in front of them. High pitched chirps had Optimus glancing down to find the twin’s pointing at the energy field in front of them.

“We are going up to the ship and then back to Earth for a little visit. You remember Earth, right?” Optimus asked.

Megatron’s laughter had the twin’s bopping up and down in Optimus’ hand as excitement thrummed through their bond.

“I remember cleaning lots of it off of them after they had such a grand time digging in it and it feels like they remember that as well.”

A few steps was all it took and then they stood on the flight deck of the warship. Still shaking his head at the image his words had brought up, he contacted Starscream.

:Starscream, we are heading to Earth to talk with the team stationed there and General Bryce needs to introduce us to his replacement as well. We should be back in a few hours.:

:Excellent. I - I mean we, have things well in servo so enjoy your little trip.:

A soft snort of amusement left his vocalizer before he could mute it and Prime turned to look at him.

“Nothing - just Starscream, well, being himself is all. I let him know we would be on Earth and I think he would gleefully push us through the portal if he thought he could get away with it.”

The smile on Prime’s face brought an answering grin to his. 

“Thankfully, we will not need one as there it is.”

The vortex whirled to life only a few feet from them. Optimus kept one hand firmly covering the twin’s frames as he took a step towards it. The questioning beeps brought his gaze down to the pair.

“We are going through now so just remain calm while I walk through.”

With several long strides he passed through and into the cavern where the portal resided. Megatron stepped out just a moment after him and the two vehicons were right behind him. A heavy foot fall had him swinging back towards the entrance where he found an old teammate smiling at him.

 _“Hey boss-bot, it’s good to see you. The General asked me to escort you up to the new meeting area they just finished constructing,”_ Bulkhead said.

The big green bot had a smile on his face and he wiggled his digits at the twins. _“Hey there little guys, you remember me, right, your old friend Bulky.”_

Happy beeps came from the pair and they waved right back at the other mech before they cast a glance up at their creator.

“He is speaking in English, an Earth language. It has been a while since you have heard that language,” Prime said to the mechlings before smiling at his old team mate. _“It is good to see you as well, please lead on.”_

They passed by numerous humans and a few of their people as they trooped through the cavern. Equipment and lights filled the area now whereas before it had been empty except for the space bridge.

_“It’s really quiet now that we don’t have to worry about fighting anybody so I’ve been stuck translating and doing the heavy lifting when they need it, but it’s not so bad since I can go visit Miko and now that we got our own quarters outside the perimeter of the dangerous stuff, the kids can come visit us as well. How are things going on Cybertron?”_

_“That is what we wished to discuss, as soon as we finish meeting with the General can you please get everyone together so we can make some announcements of our own?”_ Optimus asked.

Bulkhead gave an energetic nod of his helm. _“Sure thing, give me a ping when you are ready and I’ll make sure everyone knows.”_

They stepped outside and the bright sun overhead forced them to dial back their optics, although the cavern was well lit it was nothing compared to the bright sun overhead. Their helms swung around as they took in the changes, the open desert that had been there was now a bustling enclave. Some buildings were finished but many were not and the sound of construction now filled the air.  
Bulkhead turned towards the right and headed for a Cybertronian sized building, one of the few that looked complete.

_“This was the second one done, our quarters was the first one; but the General wanted to make sure that when you next came that there would be someplace suitable for everyone to meet. And there is even a special spot for the twins that I think they’ll enjoy as well.”_

Their progress came to a halt when a group of humans strode towards them, General Bryce flanked by several more humans. The human’s smile was stiff as he gestured towards the area around them.

_“Welcome Prime and Megatron to what has been unofficially dubbed the Space Bridge Center. My replacement hasn’t arrived yet so why don’t you go meet with your people and hopefully by the time you finish with them the new director will be here.”_

Optimus inclined his helm. _“Of course, General, we look forward to meeting them later then.”_

 _“I’ll bring you over to the common area where we hang out when we aren’t on duty. That’s probably the best place for us to all gather,”_ Bulkhead said.

 _“Can you bring them over to the new conference room when you are finished, Bulkhead?”_ Bryce asked.

_“Of course, sir.”_

Veering away from his previous course, the bulky green mech headed towards a different building. He gestured to another large structure.

“I already pinged everyone and they are all heading here.”

“The General seems tense. Have there been any problems lately?” Optimus asked.

Bulkhead’s shoulders drooped and he hung his helm. “He’s been gone most of the week after um, well, there was a little incident, but the General thanked us for saving them!”

Megatron shook his head. “What happened?”

The big green mech pushed open the door and stepped into an open area where a familiar bright yellow mech sat on a Cybertronian sized sofa with a much smaller human next to him both playing some video game together. The twins spotted the pair and squeals of delight came from them before they began pointing down with urgent pokes of their servos.

“Key!”

 _“Bumblebee, Rafael, I believe you are about to have company,”_ Optimus said as he lowered the twins down.

Bumblebee swiveled around and grinned at Prime.

_“Hey Boss! It’s good to see you.”_

_“And you as well, and to hear you again. I am glad that Ratchet was able to fix your vocalizer finally. Where is he?”_

_“Oh, he’s in his med-bay - he took over an empty room and slapped a sign on it and everything. He’s been giving everyone a check up even though it’s not been that long since we saw you guys last.”_

Topspin and Twin Twist hadn’t been idle while the adults talked and their little legs had carried them over to the couch. Topspin attempted to use his magnets to get him up the side of it, but every effort on his part failed. His brother smirked at his struggles before he turned and held up his hands towards the larger bot sitting on the surface and gave a sad beep. Bee laughed and swooped up the mechling and placed him next to him.

_“Hey there Twin Twist. You remember Raf, right?”_

A sad meep came from the floor and Topspin followed his brother’s lead and lifted his arms hoping for a hand up. Twin Twist crawled to the edge and leaned over trying to reach his brother, but Bee pushed the little one back.

_“I’ll get him.”_

The yellow scout plucked the sparkling from the floor and plopped him down next to his brother. Smiles and happy beeps came from the pair from their new perch as they attempted to see what Bee had in his hands. Raf laughed at the pair and showed them his controller.

_“We’re playing a game. That’s how he is driving the car on the screen there. See I control the blue one with mine.”_

_“Hey Raf, can you show them how to play while I go see what Prime has to say?”_

_“Of course, Bee! You two are going to have to work together to run that controller, it’s too big for any one of us to use by themselves. At least I have a chance to win now since neither of you know how to drive either!”_

Bee placed his oversized controller down in front of the pair as he eased off the sofa. The two vehicons took up positions on either side of Raf and the twins who were busy mashing buttons with unbridled glee. Rafael could only laugh as he watched their car smash and leap about the screen.

“We’ve got this, sirs.”

“Thank you, Dave,” Megatron said. The silver mech turned to their escort. “Now tell us what happened.”

Optimus nodded and added, “From the beginning please.”

Bulkhead gave a sheepish smile. “Well see they were testing out one of their new vehicles out on the moon and well, it exploded. They had a camera mounted on it because they wanted to document their progress. It worked great in their test runs here, but everything went dark and they lost all contact with the team after it went boom. They opened a portal to get their people back, but no one was coming through; so Bee and I volunteered to go get them. The General gave us the go ahead and so we went through and we got everyone out but I guess the recorder came back on while we were there because before we knew it, the video of us was all over the internet. That was when the General got called to Washington and he just got back yesterday.”

Optimus rubbed his forehelm. “What was the response from the populace to the discovery that we were here?”

Bulkhead’s faceplates took on a sad cast. “It ranged from disbelief to fear that we were an invading force and that was just from the locals. It was worse from the other governments. One of the guy’s I work with described it as FUBAR, which yeah, isn’t good. I won’t repeat what that actually means cuz you know of them.” One servo pointed over to the couch full of young.

Optimus ex-vented. “Thank you for that. I assume that is why General Bryce is being moved. It sounds like you both behaved admirably during this terrible event; however, I am saddened that the General is being removed though for acting to save his people.”

Megatron gave a rude rumble of his engine. “I am not fond of humans to begin with and I had only just begun to trust the General - removing him makes me question the wisdom of keeping an outpost here even more. Surely the humans know enough by now that we don’t have to leave any of our people behind?”

Prime laid a servo on the former warlord’s arm. “Do not be so hasty. We have not even met this person yet. I would not end our alliance with Earth so quickly.”

“Yeah, most of the humans have been great to work with and well, I’m rather fond of several of them so I don’t want to leave,” Bulkhead said as he stepped up next to Prime.

Megatron waved a servo around them. “Fine, I will give this person a chance but I think our outpost needs to keep in contact on a more frequent basis. We can’t help you if we don’t know what is going on. Shockwave said he would have our space bridge fully operational in just a few days - if we provide the energon for their bridge then I think they can give our people the ability to send us reports every few days.”

A groan came from Bumblebee. “Reports - now that’s just being mean.”

Megatron grinned and pointed over at the sofa where the racing game had devolved into a car crashing one. “Afraid it will cut into your work here?”

The grin on the yellow scout’s face was full of laughter. “Well, that’s just how I improve public relations!”

Heavy footsteps from the hall drew their attention to see Ratchet and Wheeljack heading towards them. 

“Come on, Sunshine -”

“Arrgh! Will you stop calling me that?”

At the smirk on his smaller companion’s face, Ratchet’s hand snaked out and whacked the back of the Wrecker’s helm.

“Ooo I like it when you get all bossy!” Wheeljack said with a cackling laugh.

“Jackie, will you stop baiting Ratchet or he’s gonna reformat you when you recharge,” Bulkhead said with a laugh.

“Thank you, Bulkhead!”

“Bah, Ratchet likes it!” Seeing another hand coming his way, Wheeljack danced out of range with a grin. “See, I keep your gears from rusting!”

Whatever the medic muttered was lost to the noise of the main door when it was flung open by Smokescreen and his companions who hurried through to gather around their leaders.

“We aren’t late, are we?”

“No, you are not,” Optimus said. “But now that you are all here we can begin.” He took an in-vent and cast his optics over to see that the twins were still engaged with the young human. “I am sure Ratchet has told you all of the arrival of a large contingency of neutrals. With this recent influx of population, Megatron and I felt it was time for a true election be held.”

Ratchet’s optics narrowed and one digit poked at Prime’s chassis. “That isn’t how it happened is it? Metalhawk pushed for it, didn’t he?”

“It does not matter, we need a civilian government in place if we want our peace to last. And to that end, we need strong peacetime leaders - Metalhawk has already hand picked who he wants as his council and we are hoping that you will step up for that task as well, old friend.”

Blue optics spiraled wide and Ratchet’s hands waved in front of him. “Oh no, I’ve already done my duty being on the council for you two. I want to just be a medic again and not have to deal with any political - uh - scrap.”

Megatron took a step closer to Optimus until their shoulder plates barely grazed each other. “Metalhawk has made a deal with the Combaticons - Onslaught will be a member of his team and we already had to deal with fallout from that alliance just this morning when Swindle attempted to sell off access to our energon. Prowl and Starscream have agreed to work together and they were hoping you and Dreadwing would join them. We need respected individuals and you have always been known for your integrity.”

The medic’s gaze shifted off to the side for a moment before he turned to face Optimus and Megatron once more. “I’m honored, but really I need a break - in fact, I plan on staying here on Earth as the outpost’s medic. Cybertron has two medics still but there is no one here to look out for our people. So, no, I’m sorry, but I won’t do it.”

Optimus released a soft ex-vent. “I understand and I am glad that you will be here to care for our people then.”

“But we still need at least one more former Autobot to join Starscream and his team. Suggestions?” Megatron asked as his optics cast about the gathered mecha.

“Are we going to have five still?” Bumblebee asked and at Prime’s nod he asked, “Who’s going to be the fifth then?”

“There are a pair of neutrals that I plan on asking and hopefully one of them will agree to join our effort, but that will be after we have settled which former members of our two factions have agreed to work together,” Optimus said.

A snort of disbelief came from Ratchet which had Megatron grinning.

“That would have been my thought on that as well, Ratchet, but I think they will be more inclined to listen to Optimus now.”

Ratchet’s optical ridges shot upward. “Oh, really and why is that?”

A pulse of heat from the Matrix had Prime shaking his head with a small smile at the joy from the artifact. “They came to me for a blessing and Primus answered them. I do not think it was a one time thing either, Primus seems quite willing to listen to any couple who comes before me wishing the same boon.”

“That’s great!” 

“Really? Sign me up!”

Optimus waved his hands silencing the happy shouts from the group. “I would suggest you proceed in the normal progression; although Megatron and I have made our relationship work, I would not recommend doing it in our order.”

Wheeljack rolled his optics at the outburst from his companions and shook his head. “That’s great and all, but what we need is adult mecha to help secure Cybertron - so what about the AllSpark?” 

Before he could even form the thought, the artifact responded with _“It is safe.”_ \- Primus was apparently watching over them for the moment.

“I am afraid that Primus will only say that it is safe for the moment - he has not elaborated anymore on where we can find it for now so we must make do with who we have.”

Megatron’s optics narrowed and he gave a firm nod of his helm. “We can’t count on Primus -”

Prime turned reproachful optics towards his partner. “How can you say that after everything he has given us?”

“I won’t rely on the capricious whims of a god who pays attention when he wants to. No, if he isn’t willing to show us where the AllSpark is then we need to assume we are all we have. No, don’t give me that look; it’s not that I am not thankful, merely I refuse to pin all our hopes on him giving us more aid than what we have already received.”

A long ex-vent left Prime. “I believe that he is more making sure that this election will not start new fighting before he reveals the location to us, after all it is irreplaceable and our track record for peace has been less than stellar until just recently.”

A silver shoulder lifted and dropped. “Fair enough, but we still need a team in place to run against Metalhawk.”

“Well, just because you agreed to hold a free election doesn’t mean you two can’t run,” Ratchet said and the look from the rest of the group had him waving his servo at the pair. “If Metalhawk’s alliance is that dangerous, which I totally agree with by the way, then who better for our people to unite behind but the two mech’s who got us this far?”

Megatron barked out a laugh but gazed over at Prime who only shook his head sadly. 

“While I appreciate the vote of confidence; I fear that too many now see as war-leaders and not ones of peace. No, we will step away for now. Agreed, Megatron?”

“I will agree to that if you agree that should things start to go in the wrong direction we will step in; I will not allow anyone to think that the caste system or any of its iterations are a good idea. Is that acceptable?” 

“Of course, I do not wish to see our world fall back into a war because of the actions of a few, but we must give this a chance - a true one. Back to our original dilemma - we still need another to run against Metalhawk,” Optimus said and gazed over at the slender femme. “Arcee?”

Anger glittered in her optics and she gave an angry shake of her head. “No, Optimus, I can’t - I won’t - not with Starscream. I’m sorry but I’d end up shooting him before the election even happened.”

“I understand. Wheeljack?”

The former Wrecker’s laughter was harsh. “Yeah, I’m not exactly that kind of mech - I don’t do political. Bulk?”

“Yeah, sorry Boss-bot, but I don’t exactly got the processor power you need for that sort of thing.”

Yellow frame flashed as Bumblebee took a step forward. “I’ll do it - well, if you think I can handle it.”

Prime’s smile was warm and he gave a gentle squeeze of the smaller bot’s shoulder. “Bumblebee, you have always given us your best and that has never let us down before. Thank you, I know this will not be easy, but I know you will perform admirably. Step over here with me, I have something I wish to discuss with you.”

Blue optics swirled wide but Bumblebee nodded and followed Prime over to the far corner.

“Is everything okay?”

“Yes, I just wanted you to know that Ricochet arrived with Metalhawk.”

Glee radiated from the scout as he bounced in place. “Oh man, is he going to be part of this operation?”

A soft laugh rumbled through Prime’s chassis. “You might say that. He is part of Metalhawk’s team. I did not want his appearance to catch you by surprise.”

“Of course not! I would never give away my mentor’s identity! I’ll have to find a way to get him a message so he can brief me.”

“Talk to Soundwave; they are working together and he can help you make contact with him. I am glad you are willing to do this for Cybertron, but I know it will not be easy to leave Rafael behind.” 

A soft sigh left the yellow scout. “He’s going to be leaving tomorrow anyway - he got accepted into some advanced school and the government is paying for it. That’s why he is here today. He convinced his parents to let him visit me before they start their drive across the country.” 

“I hope you will get to see him again, but for now go enjoy your time with him. We will come fetch you when we are ready to leave.”

Bumblebee grinned up at Optimus and gave him a quick salute before jogging over to the sofa where everyone had gathered. Megatron strode over to join Prime as they watched the gathered bots laugh and joke with the younglings from both worlds.

“Is everything okay, Optimus?”

Prime gave him a quick smile. “Yes, I just needed to tell Bumblebee that his mentor was on Cybertron.”

Silver helm swiveled between the bright yellow scout and Optimus before his red optics widened. “He’s his mentor?”

One edge of Prime’s lip lifted in a small grin. “Yes, he handpicked Bee to accompany me - said there was no one he trusted more besides himself to be at my side. And should our people prevail; Bumblebee will be a fine addition to the Council.”

“Yes, I think you’re right. Shall we go see if the twins wish to remain here before we go and meet our new contact?”

“Excellent idea, although I can hazard a guess.”

Megatron laughed and a soft smile crossed his face as he gazed at the sparklings gleefully enjoying their time with the others. “Well, if nothing else we need to let them know so they don’t panic when they don’t see us.”

“True. I just hope our meeting with the humans goes as well.”

“As do I,” Megatron said softly, his processor unhelpfully pulling up images of MECH and their dealings with that group. If someone were to take up their mantle, he feared that the danger that they represented would put their people in jeopardy before Cybertron could respond.


	13. Interlude: A Twin Adventure

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> A bit of fluff I wanted to write before I begin the final arc of this story. Nothing of importance just something I wanted to add in, I left the time frame vague deliberately to make sure it didn't conflict with anything else that happened already. 
> 
> I've not actually finished the whole story but I was afraid that if I waited till then 6 months would have passed so I'll probably try and post a chapter a month to try and keep a buffer ready for any issues I might have later.
> 
> I've updated the tags to reflect the rest of the story but none of them pertain to this chapter - just a FYI.

Topspin drank down the last of his fuel and his tank happily pinged it was full. His optics shifted over to find his brother at the same point and they grinned at each other. It was time. Beeping merrily and holding aloft their empty cubes they waited for a response from their creators. 

“Ah, finished have you and now you are ready to go visit with your friends?” Tor said with a grin. Red optics glowed with a warmth that complemented the amusement that they could feel coming from their creator.

“Yes, I suppose it is time for us to go back to our office then,” Key said. 

Large servos scooped them up and they were held against the windshield that covered the spark that had helped to nurture them. Togther they concentrated for a moment and felt the rush of joy over the bond from the newspark there, a sibling that was far too slow in coming as far as they were concerned. Their tiny servos patted the broad expanse of Key’s chassis just before they were placed on the ground.

Their guardians of the day, Ivan and Brad stepped closer to where they stood. 

“We’ll bring them to you when they finally wear themselves out,” Ivan said with a soft laugh.

Brad nodded just before he bellowed out, “Sparklings on the move - watch your pedes!”

That was their signal and the two sparklings laughed and took off running as a cheer erupted around them. Twin Twist grabbed his brother’s servo and headed towards a large group of vehicons. That wasn’t where Topspin wanted to go first and at first he shook his helm, but after a look from his brother, he relented and followed in his brother’s wake; after all, he had picked first last time.

Much larger pedes shifted to make room for them and they had no fear as they dashed up to where several tables had been pushed together. Twin Twist held up his hands as he came to a stop before one of the mechs.

“Teve!” Twin Twist said as he bounced up and down.

The vehicon in question grinned as he gazed down at the sparkling. He scooped him and his brother up and placed them on the table before him.

“Hey there, bitlets. Want to see what we are working on in our spare time?”

They both nodded eagerly. Steve and his companions always had something interesting to show them. A small cube was pulled from the mech’s subspace and placed before them. It was tiny enough that even they could easily handle it.

“We are making a bunch of them so you guys can have something to play with when you are in your quarters. Jose over there remembered similar things from Earth that the children there had. It’s taken us a bit to get the size right, but we think we got it now. Fred is going to paint them and I will write glyphs on each of them to help you learn our language. What do you think?”

The cube sat in the middle of the table and the pair walked over to it. Twin Twist lifted it and glanced at it before he handed it to his brother who twisted it about as he examined the barren surfaces of it. 

“Good. It isn’t too heavy for you guys to maneuver. We had quite the time finding something light enough but strong enough that you could stack them still. We’ll get to work making a bunch of them and should have them ready in a few weeks.”

The twins clapped their hands excitedly. They weren’t sure exactly how that would work, but their friends seemed to know what to do with them and any gift from them was sure to be good. Besides, if humans played with them then they were bound to be fun. Smiles on their faces they trotted up to each of the mechs and hugged each servo they were offered as delighted laughter came from the group at their actions.

“You are very welcome. We can’t wait until you see the finished ones. Now be good for your creators, alright?”

They nodded and let themselves be picked up once more before being deposited on the ground again. They waved to their friends one last time before Topspin took the lead as he charged towards where he had spotted the mech that he had wanted to visit with next. Their friend wasn’t alone which wasn’t unusual, but his companion was someone they didn’t remember meeting before. They waved at other small groups as they passed by but didn’t stop until they reached their target. The big green mech’s smile was wide and welcoming as they drew close and his slate grey companion next to him grinned and that was all they needed to feel welcome.

“Hond!” Topspin said as he waved his hands.

“Hey there Topspin and Twin Twist, I’d like to introduce you to a friend of mine.”

A large hand lowered until it was within range of them, although Topspin had began to climb on before it had even reached the ground. He stood waiting while Twin Twist joined him and together they rode in the open palm back up to the table.

“Bluestreak, I’d like to introduce you to Twin Twist and this little scraplet is his brother Topspin. Blue here is an old friend and sadly he was injured when he arrived so he never got an official welcome to Cybertron from you two. Do you think you can give him one now?”

Delight brightened their optics and they walked over to the new mech and offered their servos.

“Offer your hand to them, like you see them doing - it’s a greeting they learned on Earth.”

“Oh my goodness, that is so sweet! Nice to meet you both,” Blue said as he offered them his hand. 

The pair grabbed a digit and shook it as best as they could and their smiles widened at the warm laugh they elicited from the newcomer. Bluestreak dropped his head until it rested on the table and he gazed at the pair up close with utter delight.

“They are so adorable! How does anyone get anything done around here? I know I would spend all the time I could with them! They are so tiny! I know why but it’s hard to believe that one day they’ll be in an adult fram -”

Hound’s laughter had the grey mech grinning but it did stop his torrent of words in mid-sentence.

“Trust me, I understand - we all do. Why do you think so many of us are here in the middle of the day when we really don’t need to refuel yet? We are just grateful that Prime and Megatron let them loose to visit with us.”

The twins cocked their heads and watched the newcomer - something about this mech seemed sad, not a big sad, but a little one and since they didn’t know the words, they did the only thing that made them feel better; they each took hold of the much larger helm and hugged as hard as they could. They heard an engine stutter for a moment before it gentled into a low rumble.

“They’ve done killed me with cuteness,” Bluestreak said as he kept his head still but closed his optics with a huge smile on his face.

“Uh huh, I’ll be sure they put that on the official record - Bluestreak dead from sparkling cuteness overload. Now if you are done hogging them, I have something to show them.”

“I can’t help it they see in me a kindred spark. But seriously, thank you, Hound for introducing us.”

“Told you Spinner here would make sure they came over to visit us if I came in. I don’t get in here as often as I like since I’m usually out in the countryside monitoring the return of our native fauna. And that brings me to what I found - something special that I thought you two might like to see.”

That was what they had been waiting for and the twins beeped a little more urgently as they released their new friend and ran to stand in front of the dark green mech. Hound grinned at their excited bouncing even as he reached into his subspace and pulled out a shard of a dark blue crystal. He held it out to them so they could more closely examine it.

“I’m pretty sure it’s a polyhexian blue - but I’m not an expert on crystals. Anyway, it’s fairly unusual around here and its color reminded me of your optics. Then I thought to myself it would look nice in the garden that sprung up here in town so I took a small cutting from the main piece to bring back here. Think you two would like to help me plant it?” Hound asked and his gaze shifted over to their guardians. “Think that would be okay with their creators?”

At the excited squeals from the pair, Ivan nodded. “I’ll check but -”

“Ask Prime, he knows both me and Blue here.”

The whole party paused and the twins knew when their guardians had contacted their creators as they could feel the amusement from Key and the wary pulse of worry from Tor which they answered with love and excitement. A trip to the garden was something not to be missed and Hound had brought this crystal back for them! If only their creators were here so they could show them how important this trip was to them! Their movements never slowed as they waited impatiently for an answer.

“We have permission for them to go to the park since it’s just around the corner.”

Happy beeps erupted from the pair at Ivan’s words and they ran over to their guardian who smiled down at them.

“And in fact you two have permission to be brought there by your friends if you want.”

“Really? I’d be honored to carry you,” Hound said.

“Oh! You are so lucky, maybe someday I’ll be able to as well.”

Topspin craned his head one way and then the other gazing at their new friend’s wings. 

Pointing at them he asked, “Fly?”

Doorwings shot up and the mech shook his head sadly. “Sorry, those are doors not real wings. I can’t fly but that’s really good that you can say that already. I’m impressed you know that word already!”

“Oh, they are beginning to speak and we work on their reading and writing as well. Topspin’s frame is based off a flyer model so his winglets are full of sensors and it’s been awhile since he’s had a flight so that’s why he was curious about yours,” Brad said.

“Probably hoping he could sneak one in as well,” Ivan added with a laugh.

Topspin shook his helm. He wanted to fly with his creator first and foremost but knowing there were more friends that could go with them was a good thing. His optics gazed upwards and he noted the sad smile on his new friend’s face and he decided that needed to be changed. One grey arm was within reach and he clambered up it until he could cling to the neck cables and beeped merrily from his new spot. 

“Oh! How did he do that? Is that okay? Is he going to fall? He won’t get hurt up there, right? Maybe you should take him off before that happens. I’d hate -”

A soft laugh from Hound stopped Bluestreak’s flurry of words. “It’s alright, Blue. He has magnets in his servos and pedes and I think he is just showing you that he doesn’t mind riding with you over to the park. Now, Twin Twist, want to ride with me or over there with your brother?”

Twin Twist gazed over at his brother but held up his hands towards the green bot. Hound offered him his hand and he quickly plopped down on it, ready to get going before their creators changed their processors.

“Now that is settled, let’s go plant a crystal,” Hound said with a smile. His optics scanned the room and noted that most of the other mecha were watching them. 

“We have permission to take them over to the garden to plant a crystal and then we’ll be back but if you want to tag along that’s fine as well,” Hound said to the room.

Most remained where they were, but a few got up to follow the little group out of the dispensary. Hound and Bluestreak proudly walked at the front of the little parade but came to a sudden halt when they nearly collided with a mech on his way in.

“Wing!” Topspin said with a happy wave while Twin Twist followed with his own greeting. 

The large dark blue flyer smiled and dipped his helm at the pair’s greeting.

“Hello Topspin and Twin Twist - and who is your new friend?”

“Blue!” Topspin said while he patted Bluestreak’s helm.

“Uh hi, I’m Bluestreak and uh I have permission for him to ride on me, honest!”

An optical ridge arched but the flyer didn’t question him. “I’m sure. Only a fool would attempt to make off with the twins without proper authorization. My designation is Dreadwing and any friend of theirs is a friend of mine.” 

“I’m Hound and we were just heading over to the park to plant a crystal together, you are welcome to come along.”

“I appreciate the offer, but I just returned from a long flight and I actually need fuel so I’ll wait here for their return and visit with them then. You are coming back, aren’t you?”

“Yes, they’ll be coming back here,” Brad said.

Topspin pointed outside. “Wing?”

“I’m sorry little one, I really do need fuel. I’ve been flying all over our solar system placing sensor devices for Soundwave, but I do have a few things from some of the planets in our system to show you when you get back.” Dreadwing nodded as he passed the small group.

They had barely made it around the corner when a soft laugh left Bluestreak.

“If I hadn’t just seen it for myself I would never have believed it! I know what the message said but it’s so surreal. I think I must still be in recharge! He was a Decepticon wasn’t he? And he just greeted us like running into us was just a normal thing!”

“Most of us have had time to get over the different factions thing already,” Brad said. “And nobody is going to start anything with the sparklings here, at least that is if they don’t want to end up on the list.”

Grey helm twisted to gaze back at the vehicon. “List? What list?”

Ivan grinned. “The forbidden to play with sparklings list. Nobody is on it at the moment but everyone knows that is the first tier of any punishment that will be handed out to any and all troublemakers.”

Bluestreak’s optics shot over to his friend. “You did give me that list of things, right? Because now I’m terrified I’ll do something to end up on it!”

Hound’s smile widened. “Blue, of course I made sure you are aware of everything that could possibly get you on the list. Honestly, you’re worrying for nothing. You’re the sweetest spark I know of next to these two!”

“Aww thanks, Hound, you’re pretty great yourself.”

A discrete rev of an engine from behind them had the two mechs moving forward again. The twins were oblivious to their friends sudden awkwardness and reminded them with pointed digits and urgent beeps that were directed towards the crystal garden.

“Sorry mechlings, let’s go plant this,” Hound said but still threw a grin over at Bluestreak.

The streets were fairly empty and it didn’t take long for them to arrive at the patch of crystals that now grew in the colony.

“Remember you two, stay in the garden and everyone please keep an optic out for them,” Brad said.

The little group spread out as Hound and Bluestreak carefully placed the twins down on the ground. 

“We need to find a nice open spot where a growing crystal won’t be stepped on but will still be seen, do you think you can help me find such a spot?” Hound asked.

The pair nodded before scampering off into the thicket of crystals, their laughter setting off the crystals around them and allowing the adult mecha to track them. 

“Aren’t you going to go in and help them choose a spot?” Bluestreak asked.

Hound shook his helm. “No, I wanted them to pick the spot so unless there is a major issue with where they choose I’ll work with where ever they pick.”

They didn’t have to wait long before the pair scurried out and waved towards the waiting mecha.

“Hond! Blue!” the pair exclaimed before dashing back in amidst the crystals.

“I think that’s our signal,” Hound said with a chuckle.

“You know when you told me about all the changes after I came online, I thought you were exaggerating, but now I can see what you mean. We’ve really been given a second chance.”

A servo rested on Bluestreak’s shoulder and he glanced over at his friend and smiled.

“That we have and now we need to make sure no one forgets that.”

Bluestreak gazed into the garden and watched the twins play amongst the crystals while they waited. Hound strode towards the pair, weaving his way amongst the growing crystals and Bluestreak fell in behind him. He hoped he never had to pick up his rifle again, but he would for this new Cybertron.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Feedback is appreciated and encouraged and as always let me know if there are any issues with this chapter that I missed.


	14. Trouble

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics is used once more to indicate speech in Earth languages.

The sun bore down on the two mechs as they strode behind their bulky green companion. 

“I am sure we could have found our way -” Optimus began.

Bulkhead threw a smile over his shoulder at his leader. “I know, but I told the General I would make sure you got there so that’s what I’m going to do. Besides I need to leave to get Miko in a few so I might as well make sure you get where you need to be before I go.”

“Ah, was she staying after school for a punishment again?”

A laugh shook the frame of the mech. “Nah, she’s taking some sort of aptitude test. I think seeing Raf getting that special scholarship has motivated her to study more - she says she wants to be able to work with us like Raf has been promised when he graduates. At least that’s what the government told him when they gave him that scholarship; so she’s been studying hard and I promised to take her off-roading after her test.”

Prime chuckled and shook his head. “I am pleased that someone has found something to motivate her to do better in school; I was afraid with both you and Wheeljack here she would make good on her promise to become a Wrecker.”

Bulkhead’s grin was wide. “Heck she’s one of us already, just a much smaller one.”

Stepping around the side of the building, Bulkhead lead them to a large hangar opening, big enough that even Megatron could walk through it without having to bend over. The area was open with specially constructed seats and tables for the larger Cybertronians while up on walkways around the space, chairs and desks were placed for the humans to use. A small gathering of humans looked up at the sound of their approach; a woman stepped away from her companions and stood by the railing of the platform she stood upon.

_“Hello, I’m Director Fairborne. I’m afraid that General Bryce had to leave ahead of schedule so let’s get down to business.”_

Bulkhead took several steps backwards. _“Right. That’s my cue to head out. Ping me if you need anything before you leave.”_

Optics narrowed as the green bot fled the area with unseemly haste before Megatron turned to face the new human. His head cocked as he studied the woman and his estimation of her rose a little as her cool green eyes didn’t even blink under his scrutiny.

_“I am Megatron as I’m sure you know and this is Optimus Prime. Care to tell us why the General had to leave so abruptly?”_

Optimus took a step forward. _“What Megatron means is we consider him a friend and were disappointed to hear he was being sent elsewhere.”_

Megatron shook his head but didn’t correct his partner. One corner of the woman’s mouth turned upward at their exchange.

_“That is part of why he asked you to come here. It turns out our test craft had been sabotaged. He’s chasing the latest lead, but for right now all indications are that someone wanted your people exposed, however who or why we don’t know.”_

_“Could it be some former members of MECH?”_ Megatron asked.

She shrugged her shoulders. _“We just don’t know at this point, but that is why the General insisted on heading up the task force to hunt down the saboteurs - he wanted to make sure that them or any other group like them were stopped before they could spread their hate. And with the outing of your people it was felt that having a civilian in charge of the space bridge would reassure the rest of the world that we aren’t creating super weapons here with the help of a bunch of aliens.”_

_“I see. Are our people in danger? Do we need to bring our people home?”_ Optimus asked.

_“I would think that is the prudent thing to do, Optimus.”_

Fairborne nodded and leaned over the rail just a little more. _“I understand your concern, but we are hoping you won’t. We are doing everything in our power to ensure their safety and yours, but ultimately that is your prerogative.”_

Megatron laid a hand on Prime’s arm and spoke in a low voice. “They couldn’t save our people before. It is too great a risk.”

Blue optics narrowed and Prime gave a curt nod. _“How will you protect them? We cannot in good conscience leave any of them here if your government has been infiltrated already.”_

A feral grin crossed the woman’s face. _“By doing the exact opposite of what they expect us to do - we bring your people out into the open and show the world just exactly the gift you have given us. That is the best protection we can offer them. It’s hard to make something disappear when everyone is watching it after all. And as a bonus, the world will see you as helpful and not the hostile invaders that is currently being bandied about on the airwaves.”_

A soft snarl left the former warlord’s lips. _“That is painting a huge target on all of us! Everyone will see us as a resource to cull!”_

_“No, we show you as the friendly helpful aliens, and that although you are giant metal beings, you are similar to us in many ways. In fact, we want you and your family to do a tour of Earth and meet with as many of its leaders as possible.”_

_“Absolutely not! We are not some sort of novelty to be paraded about so your kind can gawk at us!”_ Megatron snarled and turned to Optimus. “You aren’t seriously considering her suggestion?”

Optimus shook his head and gazed over at his companion. “Peace, Megatron. You know I would never put the twins in a dangerous situation.” He turned to the Director. _“Director Fairborne, while I appreciate your candor about the situation, I feel you do not truly understand the delicate nature of our sparklings. Yes, they are made of metal but their plating is whisper thin compared to an adult Cybertronian. Extremes of any nature must be avoided and while most of your guns can barely dent our armor; any one of them could pierce and kill one of the twins. That is a risk we cannot take; not with an unknown threat in play. The twins brought our people together when I had lost all hope of that every happening. And Megatron is just as protective as I am; so while I feel your tour is a good idea, we are not the ones who can do it. However, let me tell you something that I wished to share with General Bryce - Megatron and I are stepping down in a few weeks and then new leaders will be elected for Cybertron. Whoever that is, they would be a far better choice than us to tour your world.”_

A soft exhale left the woman. _“I see. Although I am disappointed, I can understand your decision. It would have taken us a few months to arrange everything - do you think your successor will agree to such a thing?”_

Grey shoulders relaxed and a laugh shook the mech’s frame as he shook his head. _“If Starscream wins; he’ll love the idea. Metalhawk would most likely agree to it as well, if only to prevent others from denouncing his lack of interest in supporting an alliance we forged.”_

_“That’s something at least. Hopefully they will have the same rapport with us as you two have - although from what Bryce said, your twins are the true stars. And humans are suckers for babies of any type so they could have truly won over many from their mere existence.”_

Optimus optics flickered around the room and the myriad of consoles about the space and an idea came to him. _“You are correct, the twins have a presence that is far greater than their size - they have won over many of our own kind with their innocent sparks. Perhaps a video call with the various leaders could be held - they could see us and interact with us but we could remain here.”_

A smile bloomed on Fairborne’s face. _“That’s an excellent idea. Give me a few days to coordinate it and I will contact you when it’s ready to go. I was wondering though, I thought that they need to stay near you and I don’t see them anywhere - or am I missing them?”_

Megatron’s frame shook as a chuckle vibrated through him bringing a smile to Optimus’ face. _“Trust me, you’d know it if they were here, but we left them playing with the others back in the common room which is close enough to here that they won’t panic. They can feel us through our sparkbond and should we venture to far - the bond begins to feel - well, brittle. That’s how we know how far away we can be from them.”_

_“I will ask Dave and Ping to bring them here so you may meet them,”_ Optimus said and still smiling he opened the channel to their current guardians. :Dave, Ping - would you please bring the twins to us. We wish to introduce them to the new Director.:

:Of course, sir. We’ll bring them right over.:

_“That would be great. There is a play area over there, off to the right that was built specifically for them should they get bored during any meeting,” the Director said. She pointed to the corner of the room that had brightly colored walls that only came up to the chest on a human, but inside it were two small chairs on either side of a table with a small hinged chest near it. “The container there has several durable toys that should entertain them until we are finished, although it doesn’t sound like they will get much use out of it before you step down. Regardless, it’s there for however long you need it.”_

Optimus inclined his helm. _“Thank you, Director. We appreciate you taking their needs into consideration.”_

Annoyance trickled over their shared bond just before a few sad beeps preceded the arrival of the sparklings. The pair rode in the arms of the vehicon’s with the same unhappy expression on their faces. Megatron nearly laughed aloud at their antics when upon seeing their creators the pair began urgently pointing their digits back the way they had just came from.

“Key!”

“Tor!”

“Yes, I know you were having fun, but we have someone we wanted you to meet and then you may return to the others,” Megatron said as he scooped the pair up into his arms.

_“You understand what they just said?”_

_“We can feel what they are feeling -_

_“Especially when they are projecting them so hard,”_ Megatron added with a soft laugh.

Optimus merely nodded and continued on, _“and as you can see they use other cues to make their wishes known. But they have begun speaking our language, which is what you heard and what they did say was their names for us - I think to highlight the important fact that they might be missing out on the fun back amongst the others,”_ Optimus said. _“You have to understand, Director Fairborne, Rafael’s presence here is of particular interest to them - they find in him a kindred spirit of a youngling amid a crowd of adults, something they do not have on our own world.”_

The woman nodded. _“Ah, I can understand that. In that case, I won’t take too much of their time.”_

Megatron placed the pair down on the ground and they gazed up at their creator at this unexpected newly found freedom.

“Can you go and give a proper greeting to Director Fairborne? She’s the female with the brown hair standing by the railing.”

They nodded vigorously before charging towards the stairs. Together they climbed upwards, moving fast as these stairs were much more suitable for their size. Upon gaining the top, they paused to peer out over at their creators, giving them both a happy little beep and a wave. They had broad grins on their faces as they marched up to the one they thought was the Director; servos extended just as they shot another quick glance over at their creators, and upon seeing another reassuring nod that they were where indeed where they were supposed to be they took another step closer to the woman. 

Fairborne smiled and gently shook each hand. _“It’s a pleasure to finally meet you, Topspin and Twin Twist. General Bryce asked me to give you something as a token of thanks for all your help.”_

She stepped over to a nearby box and removed two stuffed brown bears, one with a green bow and one with a red one. She turned back to the waiting sparklings and at their wide optic look she gave them a reassuring smile. Questioning beeps came from the twins and once more they looked to their creators as they were unsure of what to do next.

“They are gifts for you - you may take them,” Optimus said.

Fairborne held out the bears and nodded encouragingly to the sparklings. Twin Twist took his first and squealed in delight at the softness of the thing as he clutched it tightly to his chassis. Topspin soon had his smushed against his face as he snuggled it with a laugh.

_“While I appreciate the gesture; I must ask what exactly are they for?”_ Megatron asked.

The Director gave a sad shake of her head. _“They are toys - you know something for children to play with. You do have those, right?”_

A rather pained expression flitted across Megatron’s face, but before he could respond, Optimus took a step towards where the sparklings stood. The twins held out their gifts to their creators with excited beeps and Prime gently brushed a digit along the top of each tiny helm.

“Yes, those are amazing,” Optimus said to his creations. _“Thank you, Director, I am sorry to say we have only managed to obtain datapads with stories on them for entertainment purposes. If anyone used to make such things for sparklings, well, no one has come forward yet.”_

Megatron glanced at the squishy objects they twins clung to and realized that they were modeled after an Earth animal. _“How do they work? Will they work on our world?”_

Fairborne glanced between the two and upon realizing that they were serious she waved over one of her associates. _“Ahh they run on imagination - you know creativity - our children name them and then take them on grand adventures that they make up, at least that’s what I did. They don’t require anything more than that. Peterson, go gather up what is down in the play area for them to take with them.”_

The man grabbed a nearby duffel bag and dumped out its contents before he practically leapt down the stairs as he made for the toy chest. Flinging open the lid, he carefully moved the contents into the bag before turning towards the two Cybertronians. Megatron eyed the bag being held out to them and slowly lowered his palm until the thing could be placed on it. It only took another moment before it disappeared into his subspace with a quick shift of his chestplate.

_“Inside you’ll find two copies of coloring books, markers, and other things that are low tech so there won’t be any problems with power sources needed.”_

_“But I thought those were items for the twins to use here?”_ Optimus asked.

Fairborne shrugged but a smile still graced her face. _“Trust me, we can easily get more and it sounds like they could use some things back on their world. We are happy to help them out after everything you’ve done for us.”_

Megatron joined Optimus and gave the toys a careful consideration under the eager optics of the twins.

“Yes, I can see how soft they are, just remember that means they might be damaged if you aren’t careful with them.”

“Director Fairborne says they were gifts from General Bryce, but perhaps you can tell her thank you in their language for them? Like this - _thank you._ ”

Helms were cocked and the pair mulled over the sounds Optimus had made before turning towards the woman.

_“Tank doo,”_ Twin Twist said with a bright smile.

_“Dank ooo,”_ Topspin said as he nodded happily.

_“Wow, that’s really good for someone just learning to talk,”_ Fairborne said.

_“Your language is considerably easier for them to vocalize than our own,”_ Prime said.

_“Yes, and they still butcher creator instead of saying it properly,”_ Megatron added with a shake of his head.

_“Creator? That’s what they call you?”_

_“Yes, but I think they more personalized it for us as I am the first half and Megatron is the second half of our word. Now if there is nothing else to discuss, we should be getting back to Cybertron.”_

“I thought you wanted to ask Ratchet about the ceremony still?” Megatron asked even as he kept his voice low.

“Ratchet wishes to remain here so I will find another.”

Grey helm turned as red optics studied Prime. “If that is what you wish.” Getting a reassuring nod back, he turned towards the humans once more. _“We do have another request, our space bridge will be functional within a day or two and when it is we would like to be able to send and receive reports to the team here - just so there are no surprises for any of us.”_

_“I don’t see a problem with that if you don’t mind transmitting them in our language, just for transparency - the last thing I want is some nut job spotting one and go off on how the aliens are sending code back and forth getting ready to invade us.”_

_“Of course, Director. We have no problem with that. On a different note, Bumblebee has chosen to return with us in order to put his name in for a seat in our new government so let us contact him so he can meet us at the portal and we can let you get back to your work,”_ Optimus said.

Fairborne’s eyebrows shot up. _“Really? I had no idea he had any aspirations in that arena. We will be sorry to see him go, but I’ll tell our people to be ready for your departure. We’ll send you a message when the tele-conference is set up so you know when to return to Earth.”_

_“Thank you and it was a pleasure meeting you and please give our regards to the General and be sure to tell him thank you for the presents as well.”_

Optimus held out one palm next to where the sparklings stood and the pair ducked under the railing and clambered onto their creator’s hand. Happy beeps came from the pair as they waved back at the humans without ever loosening their hold on their new toys. The two leaders gave their human counterpart a nod of their helms before striding out of the meeting area while Dave and Ping fell in behind them. Optimus opened a channel to the scout.

:We are heading for the bridge. Are you ready to go?:

:Already? I thought you guys might stay a little longer, but I’m ready when you are.:

:We have concluded our business, please meet us at the portal.:

“Bumblebee will meet us there,” Prime said as they began their descent into the cavern.

That drew another glance from the former warlord. “If you wish to say good-bye to the others we can swing by-”

“No, that is not necessary. I do not wish to try and pull the twins away from the others once more.”

A snort of amusement left Megatron. “Good point. They would want to show everyone their gifts and we will end up staying here until they fell into recharge from exhaustion.”

A smile crossed Prime’s face as he watched his creation’s jabber between themselves happily, their toys dancing about them. After the disastrous start to the day, this trip had been a far more pleasant excursion than he had expected.

~+~+~

Swindle swung his head around gazing at the vast emptiness that surrounded them. This planetoid wasn’t ideal, but being uninhabited and close to Cybertron’s home system it was the best they had come up with on such short notice. His companion however, kept his glare firmly on him and he shrugged his shoulder in response.

“I’m sure he’ll be here shortly. He’s never stood me up before. You know I could have um, borrowed a ship -”

A derisive snort escaped the taller mech. “Yeah, well, that’s the sort of thing that Onslaught is trying to avoid - you and your pilfering ways nearly caused Metalhawk to end their agreement. So now I’m stuck lugging your aft around to make sure you don’t do anything else stupid.”

“What? It wasn’t stupid! I would have made us a fortune!”

A metallic thunk rang out as Blast Off’s servo connected with Swindle’s helm.

“Ha! We would have never known about it if they hadn’t spilled your designation when they were contacted by Soundwave. You only think of yourself and we all know it. Which is why I’m your keeper today.”

Silence settled around them once more until the hum of engines had them both turning their faces skyward as three ships appeared over their horizon and began their approach to the two mech’s location.

“See there they are!”

Not bothering to answer, Blast Off stalked towards the open terrain where the ships were heading to while Swindle jogged behind as he tried to catch up to the taller mech. Ahead of them the three ships slowly sank towards the ground and the lead ship had barely settled to the ground when the hatch popped open and a much smaller mechanoid stepped out. He stalked towards the pair with an angry look on his face.

“Vashik!” Swindle said as he stepped towards the other being.

“You promised us energon and failed to deliver - tell me why I shouldn’t just shoot you now.”

Swindle’s hands shot up as if to fend off an attack. “Hey now, how was I to know that they had rules in place already - I just need to fill out some forms and we can get you onsite and once there, well, there is energon to be had.”

Blast Off’s servo connected with Swindle’s helm once more. “Idiot. You’ll need to talk with the leaders about trading for energon - Swindle has been officially cut out of the loop.”

“I should get a finder’s fee or something at least!” Swindle said as he glared up at his gestalt mate.

“You’ll get to keep your helm attached to your frame, so be happy with that.”

Vashik nodded. “I see I should have contacted them myself.”

The shuttle shook his helm. “Yeah, well, I’m not sure you could even get a meeting with Megatron and Prime. I think your best bet is to wait until new leaders are elected - our gestalt leader will be on the Council then.”

Vashik shook his head. “We need energon now. Why can’t you just get me in to meet with the current leaders?”

Swindle stepped in front of Blast Off. “Because old friend those two stay hidden away with their sparklings which means their council would meet with you and currently we don’t have anyone on it to help your, uh, application along. So Blast Off is probably right - in a few orns there will be new leadership and then we’ll be able to get you set up.”

“Sparklings? What the frag are those?”

“Well, newsparks that grew around one of our sparks - really rare,” Swindle said.

The engine of the smaller mecha coughed and backfired. “You know if you don’t want to tell me, just say so - don’t try and feed me that slag. The whole slaggin universe knows that your entire race comes from the AllSpark.”

“Yeah well, nobody has seen the AllSpark since the Autobots tossed it into space and did you not hear me when I said they are really rare? Nobody’s had a sparkling since long before the war even started so those two are really cautious with them.”

Seeing that he wasn’t going to change his story, silver servos waved at Swindle. “Fine. But you better get me a really good deal or else I’ll be letting the entire galactic network know just how badly you’ve screwed me over.”

“Hey, I’ll get you the best deal ever!”

“You better. Contact me as soon as you’ve arranged a meeting for me.”

“You got it! You won’t regret this!” Swindle said as he watched the smaller bot stalk back to his ship.

Blast Off shifted to his flight form and idled his engine while Swindle waited for his contact to climb aboard his spacecraft. Stepping inside, the smaller mech sank into one of the seats.

“That was close. I was afraid he wouldn’t agree to wait.”

The ship shook with laughter. “Would have served you right to get shot for what you pulled. And you will be detailing me when we return, asteroid dust gets everywhere and I do not like it!”

“But!”

“I can leave you here and you can wait for someone else to come along and give you a ride, if you’d rather do that instead of helping me out.”

“Fine,” Swindle said as he crossed his arms across his chassis. No one appreciated all the hard work he did for his gestalt.

~+~+~

The little mechanoid stepped into an alcove just off the front hatch of its ship and once settled into its nook, its optics dimmed as it shut off. What could only be described as a creature that looked like a multi-tentacled head crawled out of a space in the back of the frame and climbed onto a floating disk that waited nearby. Once seated, he floated down the hall and to the ship’s bridge. From there he transferred from his travel device to the command chair before initiated liftoff and carefully guided the small scout ship off the planetoid that they had used as a meeting spot. The other two crafts fell into flanking position around him as he opened a secure line to his companions; both appeared on his console and he nodded in greeting to them. All three ships accelerated away and into deep space.

:Jolup, Brinn - we have confirmation that the AllSpark hasn’t been found yet.:

:Is it possible they are deceiving us?: Jolup asked.

:I doubt it. Swindle could care less about hiding their true numbers so long as there is a profit to be made somewhere. Also there is an indication that there is still dissension among those that have returned. And there was one more piece of information that I need you to confirm, Brinn - newsparks or sparklings - is there any information about them in the records?:

:One moment,: Brinn said as he began tapping away at his computer.

Vashik tapped one tentacle against the side of his console and a new smaller bipedal creature scuttled up to him. A heavy collar encompassed its throat and a dark red light blinked ominously on it.

“Yes, master?”

He waved it away. “Go see to my meal.”

It shuffled off, bobbing its head as it went blinking its oversized eyes. “Yes, master.”

Brinn looked up from where he had been working - his eyes wide with wonder.

:One case seen before we lost control of Cybertron, however our ancestors were never able to study the specimen, why?:

:The current leaders have what sounds like more than one as Swindle specifically used the plural to describe them.:

:Should we contact Quintessa to aid us? After all they have a gestalt and Megatron and Prime to aid them,: Jolup said.

:What? After all we have done to gather this information! Anyone who could present a breeding pair of Cybertronians to our people would be awarded the highest accolades! The AllSpark never responded to us and with this development we won’t need it! We have one chance to prove ourselves. They only have one warship and we have our two destroyers - as for Prime and Megatron, I have it on good authority that those two remain apart with their sparklings. I doubt they will engage us. When we defeat the rest of the colony those two will surrender allowing us to retake Cybertron as our rightful colony and return home with a hold full of slaves!:

:Vashik is correct. With our warships and our complement of fighters, we should be able to conquer a few hundred Cybertronians especially since you say they are still fighting amongst themselves,: Brinn said. :We will be lauded as heroes and rise in status by leaps and bounds.:

Jolup nodded. :You are correct. What is the likelihood that they would surrender - we do need them functional after all.:

Vashik rubbed one tentacle along his forehead. :Unknown, but it costs us very little to demand their surrender to us in return for withholding a full attack. We will give them a breem to do so.:

:Let us attack in the middle of their night cycle - that will surely further slow them down,: Brinn said.

:Excellent suggestion. Take this time to prepare your troops and ship - we attack tonight. Vashik out.:

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Design and names for the Quintessons was taken from the g1 cartoon (thank you wiki!).
> 
> If you see any mistakes I might have missed please feel free to point it out and as always feedback is encouraged and appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!


	15. Coming Home

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Italics is once more used to represent Earth languages.
> 
> Please let me know if you spot any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> As always feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!

Bumblebee jogged towards where the space bridge was housed, he could have driven but in deference for the humans walking about the area he stayed in his slower root mode.

“Wait up!”

He spun and waved at Ratchet who was stalking towards him.

“Hey, Ratch what’s up? Did I forget something?”

“No, I’m going along.”

“I thought -”

“Yeah, well, I realized that I need to go and gather my few belongings before I officially relinquish my quarters. Then I decided that I should let the others know of my decision in person. I’ll get a bridge back either from ours when it’s operational or theirs when another shipment is due.”

Yellow helm dipped and a smile blossomed across the younger scout’s face as he slowed his pace to match the medic.

“Well, I’m glad you are coming along. Maybe you can give me a few hints on how to deal with Starscream before you go back to Earth.”

Ratchet gave him a wry grin. “Yeah, turn off your audials.”

A soft chuckle left him and he shook his head. “I’ll have to keep that in mind, but I don’t want to be accused of not paying attention either.”

“That does make it more challenging.” Ratchet paused with a serious look on his face which halted Bumblebee’s steps as he turned to look at his friend. The medic rested one hand on Bee’s shoulder. “Just remember that you have just as much right to be there as anyone and just because Starscream is saying he will lead the Council doesn’t mean he’ll actually get the votes to be elected the Speaker.”

“Oh, wouldn’t that frost his engines!”

Similar grins preceded their laughter and they continued making their way down the ramp. Their steps lighter now, it didn’t take them long to reach the rest of the party and both Prime’s and Megatron’s orbital ridges shot upward.

“Have you changed your mind?” Optimus asked as a spark of hope creeped into his voice.

Ratchet shook his head. “No, I’m sorry, I haven’t. I just realized that I needed to get my few belongings before I relinquish my quarters and also tell the rest of the Council in person about my decision. I was also going to see about bringing some spare equipment back with me as well, since somebots watched something called demolition derby and thought that they should give it try. Primus only knows what foolishness they’ll get up to next!”

Bumblebee held up his hands with a grin. “Hey, I didn’t turn it on, blame that on Bulk - I only joined in to foster team spirit.”

Ratchet’s optics narrowed as he watched the younger bot who only grinned wider at the look. “Uh huh, I was banging dents out of all of you for a full day!”

Bumblebee shrugged one shoulder. “It was worth it, the humans enjoyed watching us ‘play’ as they put it so we’ve been seeing what other sports they have that we can try.”

Optimus’ smile was warm. “I can understand why they need you on Earth now, Ratchet. Although I am happy to hear that our people are working to improve relations with the humans, perhaps the others can find something that does not annoy your medic quite so much?” The last words were directed at the young scout.

“Might want to tell Jack and Bulk that, after all I’m going with you,” Bee said with an innocent smile, one that had Prime shaking his helm.

Head still shaking as he tried to maintain his composure, Prime activated the general channel. :It has come to my attention that human/Cybertronian relations are going well; however, can all of you find activities that do not involve damaging each other in order to save the sanity of your medic? Remember, you are doing important work here and remaining fully operational is important, besides I would hate to return to a base full of overly large energon dispensers.:

Ratchet barked out a laugh. “Yes, but then they would be so much more useful then!”

A chorus of ‘yes, sir’ echoed over the channel, but there didn’t seem to be a lot of regret in their voices. 

“I did what I could but you will have a better chance of reigning them in as the senior officer here.”

Ratchet gazed skyward and a long ex-vent left him. “Right, I’ll just have to bounce a few wrenches off of helms and see if that doesn’t knock some sense into their processors.”

Turning to the nearby humans who manned the space bridge controls under the watchful optics of several vehicons, Megatron nodded at them.

_“I believe we are finally ready to return now.”_

_“It’s powered up, opening the portal now on the flight deck of the Nemesis as before,”_ one of the humans said.

_“Thank you,_ ” Prime said.

Energy thrummed in the cavern as the vortex swirled to life. They began marching through the energy corridor and once more stepped out of the portal and onto the deck of the warship. Pausing for a moment, Megatron ex-vented in relief - there were no urgent summons and no Metalhawk waiting for them upon their arrival. Instead only a single mech waited nearby and when the twins spotted him they squealed and began flailing their toys about even more, a feat that he hadn’t thought that was possible. Optimus could only laugh as he placed the pair down.

“There now, you can go show Soundwave your new friends.”

The twins scrambled across the deck and stopped in front of the slender masked mech, their stuffed bears held proudly up above their heads towards their friend as they beeped excitedly.

A smiley face flashed across the mech’s faceplate and he knelt down to more closely examine the sparkling’s prizes. Bumblebee shook his head as it still boggled his processor how once feared killers from their two armies now openly doted on the pair. Stepping around the larger bots in his party he approached the former Decepticon spymaster. 

“That’s quite the prize you two got there, your very own stuffed bears from Earth. What are you going to name them?”

Soundwave’s helm tilted a little as he watched the interaction between the Prime’s scout and the sparklings. The pair turned at his words and gazed down at their bears and then at each other with something like confusion. Bee lowered himself and smiled at the pair.

“Hey you’ve got plenty of time to come up with the perfect names for them. Maybe your creators can help you out with that,” Bee said. 

He glanced over his shoulder and grinned at his two leaders. As he expected, the pair raced back towards their creators beeping urgently at them. Confusion crept into red optics as Megatron struggled to understand what exactly was being asked of him. The habits of organics was simply baffling.

“What? Why would they do that?”

“That’s what human children do with theirs, after all every friend has a name,” Bee said before turning back to Soundwave. He lowered his voice when he spoke next. “Optimus said you can help me get in touch with Ricochet. I need to speak to him or perhaps you can pass on a message for me?”

He didn’t think it was possible but the slate blue frame stilled even more. 

“One moment.”

His optics widened at the soft sound of the spymaster’s voice until a ping with a request to join a channel had him grinning at the other mech who dipped his helm at the look. He accepted it and a familiar laugh had his smile widening even further.

:Lil’ Bee! It’s about time you showed up! OP didn’t think you’d be coming home anytime soon!:

:Yeah, well, I heard about Metalhawk and well, Ratch isn’t going to run so I’m putting my name in for our team. I have to ask though, is this channel secure?: 

:Of course! Sounders made it private and he and I already have a channel so this one is just for us. As for Ratchet, well, that’s too bad, but I’m glad you are here then to join -:

:Team Scream, yeah, that’s me - so looking forward to listening to him monologue about his virtues.:

Laughter erupted once more over the channel and Bumblebee joined in this time.

:Primus, I’m so glad I’m on Team MetalAft instead, so far he hasn’t droned on about himself, mostly he has a gear shaft bent out of shape about Prime and Megs. Well, between us all we should be able to get everything straightened out -:

:Okay, I have to ask, how in the name of the AllSpark did you get Soundwave to work with you? I mean, he’s been Buckethead’s right hand mech forever, I didn’t think he would even deign to talk with us. Primus, he even spoke to me!:

:Sounders? Actually, I approached him and we came up with this plan together. He and little Flitter have been very helpful; after all, they want the same thing we do - a true peace that lasts and right now Metalhawk and his alliance with Onslaught is something that could upset the balance we have.:

:Okay, if you trust them then I will too. Can we do an accidental meeting somewhere?:

:Sure thing Lil’ Bee, head to Blurr’s tonight - I’m sure someone can point the way and I’ll run into you there. Oh, and get a unit near there, Omega building has some openings still so that would be a good place for you to set up. That location will make it easier to meet up in person as well - got to lay my optics on my Lil’ Bee! And if you’re good, maybe I’ll tell you where the energon goody shop is.:

Jazz’s laughter had Bee shaking his head again. :Well then, maybe I’ll share with you the music files I have from Earth.:

:What? You got new music! Share or I’ll be riffling through your things while you recharge!:

The heavy tread of a large frame had the yellow scout turning around to find his leaders watching him with amused looks on their faces. The twins now rested in Megatron’s arms but were too absorbed with whatever they were discussing between themselves to pay attention to what the adults were doing.

“Are you ready to go?” Optimus asked.

“Oh, right. Sorry. Soundwave, are there any units left in the Omega Building?”

:I’ll get back to you and honestly I figured you would do that anyway,: Bee said to his mentor before turning his attention to his companions.

Soundwave pulled a pad out of his subspace and and his digits flew over it until a hologram of a building popped up. Several large areas were blocked out but most of the building remained bright which Bee assumed were the open ones. He picked a unit that had the whole floor open - it wouldn’t do to have neighbors if he could avoid it.

“That one should do nicely. Will I have time to head there now?”

An incoming ping from Soundwave along with an accompanying file had him opening the attachment to find the codes to his new place along with a map of the city marked with various POI’s. Well, that would be quite useful. His attention was pulled away from the map by Megatron’s smile which was gleefully evil or maybe evilly gleeful, either way Bee took that as a no. 

“I believe you should come to the meeting I just requested on Ratchet’s behalf. Might as well introduce yourself to the rest of the mechs you’ll be working with.”

“Right then. Time to get to work.”

Resigned to his choice, he ex-vented and followed along once more in the wake of the larger mech’s as a ground bridge opened up near them. This time he found himself standing outside a large building, a pristine building, one that had couldn’t have ever existed when he had lived on Cybertron long ago. He spun slowly in a circle taking in the city as a whole. Everything looked new - it looked like Cybertron but a version that had no smog hanging over it anywhere - no broken down buildings or half starved mechs to be seen either. It was just like in the vids he had seen of the golden age and he could only call it a miracle.

“Primus, the Omega Lock - it did this?” Bee asked.

“Yes, it was amazing,” Optimus said. “If we had known just how spectacular it had worked we would have brought you all home just to see that. Hound is constantly updating us on what new species of wildlife he’s found on his travels.”

Bee faced Prime and threw his arms wide. “And the neutrals can’t believe that we did this? What more do they need? A neon sign from Primus himself? Seriously, what is wrong with those mechs!”

A snort of laughter from Megatron drew Bumblebee’s gaze.

“I doubt even that would help.”

“Megatron, they simply need to see that we no longer have two armies but Cybertronians trying to rebuild their lives. It will take time but I have faith they will come around,” Optimus said.

Megatron shook his head as the group paused for a moment while the twins were handed to their watchers. Once more he fell in behind his leaders but this time the spymaster walked at his side. His optics shifted over to glance at the other bot and found himself being watched as well. A brief winking emoticon flashed on the visor of his companion, so quick he almost thought he had imagined it, but just the thought that Soundwave knew what that was had him stumbling over his pedes at that whole train of thought.

“Did you?” Bumblebee began to ask but Soundwave merely turned his face forward.

He had to jog a few steps in order to catch up with the others and shook his helm and made a note to ask Jazz about Soundwave’s mental state for this operation. The large room he found his party entering was already occupied and his smile widened as he saw some old friends.

“Prowl! Ironhide! It’s so good to see you both!” Bumblebee said as he walked over to where the two mech’s were sitting around a large table. He took the seat closest to Ironhide who grinned down at him.

“Lil’ Bee! How are ya?”

Yellow helm shaking in disbelief, Bee answered, “I think I outgrew that nickname a long time ago.”

“Nah, you’ll always be that,” Ironhide said with a laugh. “And that’s what your mentor still calls you.”

“Yes, well he’s not technically my mentor anymore either,” Bee said with a grin.

“Well, now that we got **that** important business out of the way, do you mind leaving so we can begin discussing serious issues?” Starscream asked. His arms were crossed in front of him and his face had a familiar sneer on it. 

Dreadwing sat beside the seeker and watched him with a neutral expression, well that was a step up from the usual hatred he saw there. Seeking to break the tension, Ratchet stepped close to the table and glanced around at the gathering of old friends and enemies.

“I have an announcement to make - I have decided to step down and return to Earth full-time. I’ll either catch a ride on their next shipment or wait until our bridge is functional; regardless of when I return, they need a medic over there full-time. Bumblebee has agreed to step in and be a part of this team so I could return to Earth. I know he’ll be an asset for Cybertron and her people.”

Starscream erupted out of his chair, his optics flashing with anger. “What! We need you here! We don’t need a scout as part of the Council!” 

A soft laugh left Bumblebee and he merely shook his head. “Well, Starscream, bots aren’t exactly lining up to work with you. How did Arcee put it? Oh yes, something about she’d rather shoot you through the spark first, so no - you don’t have a lot of options. Besides, I know all sorts of tricks my mentor taught me that can be of use to us.”

Starscream made a rude noise before he settled back into his chair. “Right, I’m sure we all need to know how to drive fast. Oh, wait, never mind some of us can actually fly.”

Bumblebee’s smile brightened as he thought about getting to meet with his mentor later. “Oh, Jazz might have taught me some of the finer points to street racing and not getting caught, but trust me, there are lots of other things that he taught me before he sent me off with Prime.”

Ironhide’s grin broadened as various noises of disbelief came from all the former Decepticons and he raised an optical ridge as he watched the seeker who’s intake now hung open.

“You can’t be serious! He - you - no, that’s not possible!”

Ironhide smacked Bee on the back with one broad palm. The resounding clank had the smaller mech wincing slightly at the hit. 

“Bee here was Jazz’s shadow from the moment he was onlined. It’s amazing sometimes how well he can play the part of the innocent bystander considering I’ve seen some of the slag those two got up too!”

Red optics flitted between Ironhide and Bumblebee for a moment.

“It still seems like you would be a better choice, Ironhide, than him.”

One black servo waved dismissively towards the seeker. “Nah, I don’t have the temperament to deal with your slag and besides my duty has always been guarding Prime. Bee is much more personable than I am, so he’ll be much better at dealing with all that,” Ironhide said with a shake of his head.

Bumblebee ex-vented and channeling his mentor, he pushed away from the table. “You are welcome to ask around and see if anyone else would rather join you, but there are only a few more days left for registration, correct? Why spend it hunting down somebot willing to join your team when I’m here already, but if you don’t want me -”

A slender servo waved in front of the seeker. “Fine, you’ve made you’re point so welcome to the team.”

Bee gave him a wide grin. “Thanks. Now, I’m going to check out my new place and get a feel for what is going on in this town before it becomes widely known that I’m on your team.”

Starscream’s optics narrowed just a little but he finally waved him off. “I see. Be here tomorrow morning bright and early we need to go over a plan of action before we submit our applications and I want to make sure everyone is in agreement.”

Bee nodded to the seeker. “I’ll be here.”

~+~+~

Bumblebee settled down on a stool at the bar. His processor was still reeling from everything he had seen on his tour around the colony. Market drive had been one of the highlights of his route although he hadn’t done anything more than browse through the shops, but he made sure to take pictures to give to Raf the next time he saw him. Of course the crystal garden was also impressive, and he’d only seen pictures of them from before Cybertron’s fall. That was definitely something his friend would love to see as well. Now if only they could get him a space suit so he could visit.

“What can I get you?” 

Bumblebee shook his head and smiled at the bartender. 

“Sorry was just amazed at how much Cybertron has changed. Hmm, I’m not sure what sort of payment you would take for some high grade.”

The bot’s optics widened a bit. “How is it you haven’t seen the changes? I don’t remember any sirens signaling any new ships coming in.”

“Oh, I just came through the space bridge from the Outpost on Earth with Prime and them. A bunch of us stayed behind when everyone came back here to fire up the Omega Lock.”

“I’m Blurr by the way, so let me be the first to say welcome to New Cybertron! I’m usually always willing to trade with whatever you might have, flavorings are always a useful thing to have and will get you the biggest return. I’m guessing you must be a former Autobot since you came from Earth.”

“Oh, there are a few former Decepticons there still, but just a few vehicons and eradicons to help with the space bridge. You are correct though, I was on Prime’s team.”

Blurr leaned a little closer and Bee followed his lead.

“Is it true that the sparklings are really from Megatron? I mean, honestly that seems impossible. He’s always excelled at destruction not construction.”

Bee huffed a soft laugh. “Mech, you have no idea of some the scrap that happened on Earth. But yes, the twins really grew around his spark and Prime is their co-creator. We had one pit of a party when they were framed - hard to believe but the handful of Autobots on Earth were there living on the warship with them at the time. Not sure who made all the high grade we consumed but we sure felt it the next day.”

Blurr leaned back and laughed. “I bet you did. Tell you what, you tell me the most outrageous story you’ve got and I’ll give you the high grade to tell it to me over.”

Bee tapped one finger against his cheek and his smile widened. “Let me tell you about the time we fought Unicron with Megatron.”

Blurr’s optics widened and his mouth dropped open. “You’ve got to be fragging kidding me! No way! You get someone to confirm it and I’ll give you all the drinks you want for the next two stellar cycles!”

One yellow shoulder lifted and Bee smirked at him. “Well, you can comm Ratchet, Prime or Megatron - any of them will confirm my story - the rest who could verify my story are still on Earth.”

“Let’s hear it and then I’ll decide if I should contact Prime with the news that one of his own has lost his fragging processor,” Blurr said with a grin but he did slide a glass of high grade to Bee.

Bumblebee took a long swig of his drink and shifted a little closer to Blurr.

“It all began with a planetary alignment that had the planet going haywire. I mean we had dark energon spewing out of a volcano!” Bee exclaimed while throwing a hand up in the air, being careful of course not to spill his free drink.

Thirty minutes later, Bee leaned back on his stool and laughed at the expression on the bartender’s face. Somewhere along the line, a good chunk of the other patrons had taken up spots around them in order to listen to the tale. 

“You are joking, right? You’re yanking my cables, right? That can’t possibly be true!”

Murmurs surrounded them as others echoed Blurr’s disbelief.

Bee shook his helm as he glanced around at his audience. “Nope, go ahead and ask any of those three - though Prime and Megatron are probably settling the twins down for recharge so maybe Ratchet would be best.” 

A hand landed warmly on his back and he turned to find himself staring into the grinning face of his mentor.

“That has to be the best story I’ve heard in vorns! Give him a drink on me, Blurr.”

Blurr shook his head. “Thanks, Rico, but I got this, after all I did promise him high grade for the most outrageous story he could come up with that was true. And I seriously doubt anyone could top that one.” He pointed a finger at the yellow bot before continuing, “Trust me, I’ll be checking your sources tomorrow.”

Bee dropped one hand down to rub absently at his thigh, and in the process picked up a datachip before he offered his hand to Rico.

“Hi, I’m Bumblebee just got here from Earth and thanks for the offer of a drink.”

Rico’s visor brightened and he laughed but took Bee’s hand. “Well, I can see you know the same greeting as the twins. Nice to meet you, I’m Ricochet but everyone calls me Rico.”

The datachip easily passed to the red bot who made it disappear just as effortlessly as Bee had palmed it.

“Nice to meet you. I might take you up on that offer tomorrow.”

Maybe now his things would be safe from being picked over by Jazz, after all that was a copy of his complete library of music that he had given his mentor. Bee grinned. Nope, probably not but that’s okay the thing was encrypted using names from Earth video games so that would keep the mech busy for awhile. It’s not like he had anything he wanted to hide from him, but this was part of the game and he’d be disappointed if Jazz didn’t make a surprise visit to his quarters anyway. The mech’s idea of fun had always been a little warped. Primus, he had missed Jazz though.

“Rico!”

The red mech spun around at his designation and waved to whoever had just come in. Bee craned his head and spotted a mini-bot and a slender mech coming in together and both of them seemed to pulse with a joy so pure that it radiated out from them. 

“Hey you two, how did it go this morning?” Ricochet asked with a smile.

The smaller mech bounced up and down several times before throwing his arms in the air and letting out the most high pitched squeal Bee had ever heard.

“EeeeeEEEeeee We are sparked!!”

The bar erupted into cheers and everyone encircled the couple with words of encouragement and pats on the back and shoulders for the pair.

“A round for everyone on the house! Well, except for whichever you two is carrying the newspark!” Blurr shouted over the din.

Ricochet grinned and gave the pair the traditional salute, a closed fist over the spark.

“Congratulations, I can’t believe you two are sparked already.”

Chromedome and then Rewind bowed their heads and returned the greeting to Ricochet.

“We couldn’t have done it without you. The Matrix might have blessed us but you got us in to see Prime. For that we owe you -”

Rico’s hands waved desperately in the air in front of him. “Oh, no! All I did was show up at the door! You are both good sparks, and all I did was introduce you - told you he had a good spark as well and would look out for you. But how did you find out so fast?”

Rewind hung his helm and he giggled a little. “I thought I had killed him when he went offline - I mean that’s never happened before so I called Ambulon and he came right away. When he was checking Domey over, we both saw it. See here it is!”

The camera on his shoulder glowed to life and high up on the wall footage of a mech’s spark sprang to life and then, for just a brief moment a tiny wisp of a different spark peeked out from behind the larger parent spark.

“Way to go, Rewind!” Ricochet laughed.

The bar rang with laughter and the sounds of metal slapping metal as another round of congratulations went through the area. Bumblebee offered the couple his own best wishes for them and smiled as mecha swirled around the pair. He grinned when dance music came on and the whole place began stomping their feet and dancing as an impromptu party started up. This was what he had hoped for when he returned to Cybertron and for once it felt like he had come home.


	16. Stand Together

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, as of right now that's how many chapters I have left with only 2 still not finished so I might try and up the publish rate if I can make some decent progress on these last two. Of course, the chapter count may change if I decide to add anything else so just a FYI!
> 
> As always feedback is encouraged and appreciated!
> 
> Enjoy!

Urgent alerts pulled him out of recharge and the information contained within them had him firing up his battle protocols - just in case. Megatron turned towards his berthmate and found Prime’s optics already flickering on as he must have received the same messages. 

“Who is it now and why can’t anyone come in at a decent time,” Megatron grumbled in a low voice.

“If they are friendly perhaps we will be able to ask them,” Prime said as he clutched the twins and their beloved toys a little closer to his chassis as he began to sidle towards the edge. A few muffled meeps came from the movement but they remained in recharge. 

“If they were friendly they would know not to come in the middle of our night cycle.”

“They may be running low on fuel or have some other reason. We must not judge them until we know the whole story.”

Megatron ex-vented but rolled out of the way before he took the pair from Optimus even as he opened a channel to Soundwave - the source of the incoming pings.  


:Soundwave, have you made contact with them yet?:

:They have not sent any transmissions to us as of yet, but scans from our outer defensive relays show that we have two warships that have been positively identified as Quintesson in origin with a current trajectory bringing them straight for our colony. Shall I attempt to contact them?:

Megatron said a few choice words inside his head before replying. :No, let them think they caught us by surprise. Please open the emergency channel for me before you sound the red alert though. Better put it on repeat for a few cycles just to make sure that everyone hears it.:

:Channel open.:

:Attention all Cybertronians - we have two Quintesson warships heading straight for us. Head for the command center building with every armament you can get your servos on.:

Sirens erupted outside with a loud wail, loud enough to pull the twins from their recharge cycle. Frightened beeps came from the pair, sadly they now knew that this sound meant danger and clutched their toys a little closer while shifting as near to their creator’s spark as they could get. Megatron gave them a reassuring smile and let their bond fill with his love before he strode out of the berthroom. 

“Primus, why did it have to be them,” Prime muttered as he swept through the area grabbing up spare energon, the twin’s cubes, and the handful of treats still left before placing the lot in his subspace. He turned to Megatron. “Do you still have that bag from the humans in your subspace?”

Megatron pointed towards a storage unit by the entrance. “No, I put it in that cupboard by the door. Why?”

Pulling the bag from the cabinet, Prime placed it in his own subspace. “It might help divert the twins from what is about to happen.”

“Good thinking,” Megatron said with a nod.

Prime stopped at the door before speaking across the open channel.

:Shockwave, is the space bridge fully functional yet?:

:It is complete, but a final test has yet to be done, however it is synced with it’s twin on Earth.:

Megatron gave an approving nod before handing the twins to Prime. “Ahead of schedule even, that mech is the best. Good idea. Take them to Earth and send back whoever will come.”

“What? I am Prime! I am not leaving my people - my world! Not to mention that doing that would break your bond with the twins - so no, I will not take them to Earth. I merely wanted to request that our people from there come here to help.”

At the hard set of Prime’s face, Megatron could only ex-vent before he conceded the point. :Shockwave, send a message to Earth - tell them that we need everyone to return here in order to defend Cybertron from the Quintessons.:

:Of course, I will head there now and begin powering it up.:

“You’ll stay in the command center at least?” Megatron asked as they left their unit.

“I assumed we would stay together.”

They took the stairs in leaps and bounds as they headed down to the main floor.

“I remember that Ratchet said that he thought so long as one of us remained with the twins, the other could go further afield and since you harbor a newspark it makes sense for you to stay there and I will go stand with our people to face our enemies.”

“But if it is that dire then I should take up arms as well -”

Megatron stopped when they reached the bottom and turned towards Optimus and the twins who sat quietly in his arms. He gently brushed a finger across each helm before he dropped his hand onto Prime’s shoulder. 

“Could you in good conscience leave them behind to fight knowing that it could result in their death should something happen to both of us? They have a better chance of survival if at least one of us is functioning. I would not dream of telling you not to fight but I will beg you to wait until the situation is dire to do so before you join the battle - I would not have any of you harmed if at all possible. My whole existence has been one fight after another so let me take that task - for them, for you, for the newspark. Even though I know that we will need all of us that can be spared, but right now I will be selfish and tell you I would prefer for you and them to stay safe. There are two warships coming in and the _Nemesis_ is good but she can’t take both of them. I will do everything in my power to win this fight and return, but if I shouldn’t -”

Optimus gave him a slow nod as he handed the twins back to Megatron. “Unicron couldn’t stop us, surely a few Quintessons will fall before your might.”

Megatron grinned. “Yes, well, like I was saying - if I don’t make it back, promise me you’ll find someone to take my place as co-creator for the newspark. I would have it have the same choices as its brothers on what possibilities are open to it. Let someone else become Prime when you finally join me in the Well.”

“What? How do we know if that is even possible?”

Megatron shrugged as he opened the door. “I have no idea if it will, but it is worth a shot, after all any chance is better than none. Transform and let’s go.”

Optimus had barely settled on his wheels when Megatron had thrust the twins inside of his cab. As soon as the door was shut, he strapped the twins in and gunned his engine as he took off towards the Command Center. Mere seconds later, Megatron roared past him. All around him, vehicles or every sort and type could be seen making their way towards the building as headlights brightened the area. The twins hunkered down in their seats clutching their bears as the tension from their creators flowed towards them. Pushing the dread out of his spark as best as he could, Optimus pulsed all of his love their way. A few meeps was their response as they turned their optics towards his dash but that was better than them staring down at nothing.

“We will protect you both to the best of our abilities, but you will need to do exactly as I say.”

Optics wide, they both nodded.

:Prime, what are your orders regarding the two prisoners?: Prowl asked.

:If they are willing to stand and fight with us than free them, we will need everyone we can muster,: Optimus answered.

He came to a stop on the edge of the crowd where Megatron already stood waiting. The twins were pulled out of his cab and he transformed and followed his family into the throng of their people.

“What sort of ploy is this?” Metalhawk asked as he strode towards Prime and Megatron while Zetca trailed just a few steps behind him. “Must you try and use such a desperate lie as Quintessons invading to try and hold onto your power base?”

Megatron’s engine rumbled in warning, but he had already spotted Soundwave on the edge of the gathered mecha and nodded over at him.

“Soundwave, is there anyway you can show us a visual of the incoming vessels?”

There was a brief nod from the spymaster before he pulled a large pad out of his subspace. His fingers flew over it until he had patched in the feed from their warship overhead. A hologram showing a pair of distinctive corkscrew shaped ships appeared above the crowd.

“Yup, them’s Quints alright,” Ironhide said. His optics darted around the crowd daring any of them to naysay him. “They ain’t here for our energon, they’re here for us. To think anything else is gonna be the end of us all. Them squids think our rightful place in the universe is as their personal war-machines. Anyone else here fought them before?”

“Orion took part in that war but sadly I cannot access those files,” Optimus said.

“I was there,” Ratchet growled out as he pushed towards where Prime stood. “Patched up a lot of bots and dealt with too many hacked ones. It wasn’t pretty. Ironhide is right - they are here for us.”

A much smaller frame slid between the larger bots around him and joined the center group. Visor narrowed until only a thin beam was all that could be seen, Ricochet nodded at those around him. “We’re lucky that there are only two ships - their greed must have overwhelmed their caution. If we aim to stay free, we will need to take them out fast and keep them from calling for help. Soundwave, can you block their transmissions?”

The masked mech took a step towards the center of the crowd, his back strut ramrod straight but nodded towards the smaller mech. “I can jam them if I am close enough, but then I won’t be able to captain the Nemesis.”

Metalhawk and Zetca stared at the grim expression on Ricochet’s face. More of the onlookers seemed stunned that the spymaster had spoken rather than his choice of words.

“I had no idea you were that old, Ricochet,” Metalhawk said.

“Yeah, I was brought online before that war and it was during our war with them that I learned many a trick. I know my way around their systems and if I can get onto one of those ships I can do far more damage than I can from down here. I have a jet pack but no way will I be fast enough to avoid their drones in order to reach one.”

“I’ll make sure you get there.” All optics turned towards Megatron who let his gaze circle around the gathered mecha. “I was a slave once before and never again will I toil under someone else’s lash again! And the only way they will ever touch my sparklings is over my grayed out frame! So if he needs to get to a ship to make sure we stay free then I’ll make sure that he makes it there. I’m not the fastest flyer but I do have the thickest armor of any of you along with the biggest guns. Not to mention that I won’t be slowed down nearly as much by his weight as anyone else.”

Ricochet nodded towards the much larger mech. “You realize that you might break your bond with the bitlets going that far away, right?”

“I know, but if we don’t win the point is moot. So yes, I will take that risk, if I don’t we will all be in a far worse place.”

“They haven’t even made contact with us, perhaps they have changed their ways,” Metalhawk said with a wave of a hand. “Before we make all these elaborate plans perhaps we should find out what they want.”

Before anyone else could say anything Ricochet moved to face the taller flyer. “Mech, every klik we waste is a klik closer to enslavement. You’ve never dealt with them, but I have. They believe their destiny is to rule the galaxy and they see us as those weapons to make sure that happens. They nearly succeeded the first time around using lies and deceit to ensnare us. When we realized what they truly wanted we fought back and that’s what we need to lead with now. The troops they throw at us will either be enslaved organics or sharkticons - most likely both. None of them will give us any quarter, the former can’t and the latter doesn’t care. They will try to disable us so that they can bring us back and control us either through one of their collars or coding - neither of which is easy to break free of. You wanted me to advise you, so trust me when I say that we have to fight with everything we got or those of us left will be returning to their world as their slaves. There are no other choices in this fight.”

Soundwave held up one slender servo. “Incoming transmission -”

“Play it,” Megatron said.

A decidedly organic sounding voice spoke in galactic common over the general channel - :Attention Cybertronians - surrender your leaders and throw down your weapons and be welcomed into the largest empire in the galaxy. Failure to do so will result in us taking you by force. You have a breem to comply.:

Optics studied the smaller bot before Metalhawk nodded and then turned his gaze towards Megatron and Prime. “You need a captain for the _Nemesis_. I’ll do it.”

“She will most likely go down,” Ricochet said.

“Yes, but I was in charge of a warship before, smaller granted but I do know my way around the bridge.”

“The ship is yours. Get a crew and Soundwave will bridge you up to her,” Megatron said.

“I’ll go with them. They’ll need tactical support and the feeds from the ship will give me the best data to work with so I’ll be able to support our forces in the air as well,” Prowl said.

Megatron waved over at where Starscream stood. “Starscream, take anybot that can fly and any ship that can fight and harry those ships to the best of your ability.”

Starscream nodded before gesturing to the crowd. “See me if you can fly or have a ship that can fight.”

Prime’s optics scanned the crowd until he spotted the mech he was looking for. “Onslaught, will you do tactical for our ground forces? I would put Ironhide in charge of them as he has the most experience against our foes, but he will need a good tactician while Prowl is orchestrating the air combat.”

All optics turned towards the combaticon who nodded. “I’ll do it, but what about Bruticus? He could be useful.”

His gestalt stood around him and all nodded at their leader’s words.

Ironhide shook his helm. “Mech, all you’d be doing is painting a big old target on yourself. The warships will target you -”

“Which could draw fire away from everyone else in the air.”

“Hey, I don’t like this idea, Ons!” Swindle said as he gazed up at his leader. “Brut is supposed to give the hits - not take them!”

“And I like the idea of being anyone’s slave even less. We need to give our warship and Megatron as much time as possible before they concentrate their firepower on them. We form up, hit one of their units, and then break apart to minimize the chance of them locking onto us, but hopefully that will force them to shift their guns towards the ground. We will need protection while we recover from the split though.”

Ironhide gave him a nod. “You got it mech.” He turned towards the crowd. “Right then, anyone without a blaster? Come see me. Everyone else -”

“Wait!” a voice called out but the speaker was not visible until the crowd parted. Rewind jogged into the center with Chromedome at his side. “Can Domey stay out of the fight? He’s got a gun, but he’s sparked. I’ll fight instead of him if you have a gun small enough for me.”

Ironhide smiled. “Yeah, he can help the medics. Congratulations by the way - now let me see what I’ve got for you.”

Chromedome pulled Rewind away from the big red mech. “Rewind, you’ve never been in a fight your entire functioning. It would be suicide for you to start now.” 

Rewind took his conjunx’s servos in his. “I have to do this, Domey. They need everyone they can muster and I will do my part to defend you and our world. You’ve always taken care of me but now I want to take care of you anyway I can.”

Ironhide’s optics skimmed through the crowd until he spotted the mech he was seeking. “Bluestreak! Take Rewind here and Tailgate as your spotters and pick yourself a good spot to start shooting when our guests arrive.” 

Tailgate pushed through the crowd until he stood next to Rewind. “I don’t have a gun either. What do we need to do?”

Ironhide waved over to Onslaught. “Start forming units up while I get our sniper and his spotters ready. 

He dropped to one knee and pulled out his smallest guns and dropped them into the waiting servos of the two mini-bots. They were still quite large for them but the pair hung onto them grimly.

Bluestreak weaved his way through the crowd until he could reach Ironhide’s side. “Now, Bluestreak here is a sniper - one of the best, but he needs mechs to watch for targets for him and to protect him. Practice firing your weapons when he starts shooting until you see anyone coming your way. If there are too many than get out of there and call for backup and I’ll send a squad to extract you. You’ll be protecting him but it should keep you out of the worst of the fighting. Got it?”

The pair nodded and took a few steps closer to Bluestreak even as the grey mech began scanning the buildings looking for the best place to set up. Making his choice, he transformed. Tailgate shifted but Rewind stood there looking lost.

“My alt mode is a dataplug - I can’t keep up on foot.”

“You don’t look that heavy. Climb up and hold on. I’ll carry you to where we need to go.”

The mini-bot clambered onto the larger vehicle and every scratch he made had him wincing. “Sorry. I’ll buff it out later.”

“Oh, a few scratches don’t bother me! Just hang on, I would hate for something to happen to you when you have a newspark to look forward too! You must be so excited! I know I would be!”

Starting slowly, Bluestreak headed towards a large building, Tailgate followed behind while Rewind clung to his roof as best as possible. The trio disappeared around the corner and the crowd turned back towards their leaders.

On the far side of the plaza, the building hum of the space bridge powering up drew the crowd’s attention until the familiar vortex of energy swirled out and after a moment bots began running out of it. Wheeljack and Bulkhead were the first through both wore the same grim smile.

“Wreckers reporting for duty,” Bulkhead said.

“Yeah, we heard there were some tentacle heads coming our way and we’re here to make sure they get a proper Wrecker welcome,” Wheeljack said as he pulled a grenade from the clip on his hip and tossed it in the air.

The rest of the team from Earth poured out and joined the rest of the milling crowd. The bridge hummed a moment more before it finally shut down. Arcee pushed through the smaller groups as mecha began to settle into their teams. She stopped before the two leaders.

“I told the Director not to initiate contact with us and that should things go well we would contact them and do so in their language. And I warned them that if they don’t hear from us within a few weeks than they should expect the worse and to delete their connection to us from their bridge.”

Optimus handed the twins to Megatron and turned to help Ricochet clamp on his jet pack. “Good. The last thing the humans need is to have the Quintessons turn their gaze towards them. Thank you, Arcee.”

She nodded and paused for a moment before Megatron. “I’d never thought I’d be saying this, but I’m glad you are here - now go and kick their afts back to Quintessa.” 

She turned on her heel and headed to where Wheeljack and Bulkhead were examining a pile of hand grenades. The former warlord shook his helm with a small smile before bringing the twins up to the level of his optics and his smile widened as he gazed at them.

“No matter what happens, know that you are the best thing I’ve ever created. Be good for Optimus and I’ll be back as soon as I can.”

Arms outstretched they reached for their creator who obliged them by bringing them closer to his face. Worried meeps escaped them as they hugged the much larger helm for all that they were worth. 

“Your sparks are strong, so be brave my little mechlings.”

Ironhide stomped over to where Prime was finishing strapping Ricochet in. “Prime, tell me you’ll at least stay in the back with the bitlets. I don’t think my spark can take it if you are out in the thick of things.”

Last clamp attached, Optimus straightened up. “I have promised to stay out of the fighting unless things become desperate so I will remain with the twins back with the medics.”

The blocky red mech let out a wheezing vent. “Thank Primus for that at least. I was afraid I was going to have to go over your head and get Ratchet to yell at ya.”

Prying the twins away from his head, Megatron placed the pair back in Optimus’ arms. “I already did. So we will need to make sure we win this so he doesn’t have to join in the combat.”

Ironhide nodded grimly before he bellowed out. “Positions everyone!”

Optimus held the twins close to him and shielded their little frames with one large servo as the area around them exploded with noise as bots flew, ran or drove towards their assignments. He could only nod to Ricochet as he watched the smaller mech attach himself to the much larger frame and the pair rose in the air among the other flyers. As he watched them climb up to the stars, he wondered how many of them would survive this. He turned and headed up the stairs towards the entrance. Chromedome was a few steps behind him but only Ambulon stood beside the door.

“The others are going to roam the area doing triage as necessary and bringing back those that need more extensive repairs and since my alt mode is useless I will be in charge of you four per Ratchet. Now please let’s get inside before the shooting starts.”

Prime nodded but turned to look one more time at the city before he followed the medic inside. He wondered what and if any of them would be left standing when it was all over.


	17. Battle for Cybertron

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well here it is! It's a whopper and because there was so much I wanted to cover I made it one chapter. 
> 
> Hopefully the flow works - please let me know if you have any suggestions or ideas if it doesn't work for you. It's broken up into chunks following three different groups - Megatron/Ricochet, Ironhide and the ground troops, and finally Metalhawk and the _Nemesis_.
> 
> One last thing, as Unknown_Xeno mentioned - music can add to your experience so here are some of my favorite tunes for this chapter:  
> Invincible by Pat Benatar (Megatron), Warrior by Imagine Dragons (vehicons/eradicons), Who am I living for by Katy Perry (Optimus) and for general listening Two Steps from Hell, The Immediate, Future World Music, and Audiomachine - I recommend Rise of the Machine for sure from Future World Music. And finally Wonder Woman's Wrath from the soundtrack to the movie - cuz I just love that one refrain that lets you know she's about to kick somebody's ass!
> 
> As always feedback is appreciated and encouraged! And let me know if you spot any errors I might have missed!
> 
> Enjoy!

Megatron turned all of his sensors forward as soon as Prime and their sparklings had made it inside, although he did flood their bond with love before he got out of range. He turned his attention forward now that they were safe so he could focus on the fight nearly upon them. Ahead he could see the bows of heat generated as the two warships broke into Cybertron’s upper atmosphere. The drone of engines around him was overshadowed by the heavier thrum of the _Nemesis’_ engines as she rose up to meet the intruders. True to his word, his passenger’s jet pack gave enough of a boost that he barely noticed that he was carrying another mech skyward with him. A ping to join a private channel popped up on his display and his curiosity had him accepting it.

:You should probably return to the others after you drop me off.:

:I assumed I would assist you in your mission.:

:Yeah, well, you know that this will most likely be a one way trip, right?: Ricochet asked.

Ah, well that explained who it was and now he understood why he wanted to keep it private. No sense in worrying anyone else.

:Can’t we just disable their engines from out here?:

:Nah, and that wouldn’t neutralize their troops and keep them from deploying emergency beacons. Afraid they hardened their defenses around their engines after the first war when they realized that there were some of us crazy enough to do whatever it took to bring them down. So we gotta get inside so I can work my magic in there.: 

:Well, I guess then we had better make sure that what we do counts. So do you need me to watch your back when we get inside?:

He could hear a morbid laugh over the comm just before a file was sent to him. :Here is a copy of a schematic for this type of ship. No guarantees that there haven’t been any modifications but it should give us a good idea of where we need to go. I’ll head towards the engine room to make sure that they can’t escape with news of our return and you get the job of being my diversion. Head towards their command deck and make sure you take out anything that looks like a computer center, it’ll slow them down. I have a few other things to take care of before I hit their engines just to ensure that our world remains ours.:

:Diversion? Surely I’ll be able to bring her down if I can reach their bridge.:

:Blowing up their consoles won’t do much as they have redundant systems and I doubt you read Quintesson; not to mention that I always assumed Soundwave did all your hacking.:

:Fair point. I’ll make sure they are focused on me so you can bring her down then.:

He couldn’t nod but he did let some of his old anger bubble up as he primed his combat systems. He would make these intruders pay for their trespass.

:Dreadwing, take your squad and make sure Megatron gets to a ship,: Starscream said over the open channel.

A formation of flyers broke off from the main force and settled in around him as they soared closer to their target. The two ships were side by side and he chose the further one even though it meant a slightly longer flight for them. The _Nemesis_ would be targeting the closer one first and he preferred not to be on that one when she came under fire. 

Their small flotilla of craft and flyers continued up higher as ahead of them bays opened up on both of the invading ships and metallic shapes streamed out of them like a swarm of angry insecticons. The drones had been let loose.

:Please stay in your current trajectories as we are preparing to fire on the nearest vessel. We plan to try and keep it between us and the far one so be warned,: Metalhawk said.

:Hold on for evasive maneuvers,: Megatron said as he switched over to the general channel.

:Mech, you can’t shake me unless you go skidding along something belly first. I magnetized my entire frame although I can shoot if you don’t mind the extra drag when I pull my arm and head away.:

:Do it, I’ll compensate. Everyone stay to my sides while I give them a proper welcome.:

Dreadwing and the other flyers fell in beside him as the first wave of drones closed the distance between them. He decided against using his fusion cannon, better to have a back up option in case the Quintessons had any other defenses waiting for them, but his alt mode still had several smaller guns that would be sufficient for taking out these small sparkless fighters. As soon as the first one entered into his crosshairs he unleashed his weapons. His escort followed suit and a barrage of blaster fire temporarily opened up the space in front of them. Sparking scraps of metal fell before them as he spun to the side as the drones behind the first wave began returning fire. His team broke apart with Dreadwing remaining firmly off one wing while the three eradicons circled around them picking off whatever they could.

:Why haven’t they opened up with the ship’s guns on us?: Megatron asked.

:Luckily for us they need us functioning if at all possible. The drones will try and bring us down unless it looks like we are getting the upper hand and then they’ll open fire on us with the ship’s guns. We should be able to buy the Nemesis a little time while we are flying between them and our warship,: Ricochet answered.

A throng of drones headed for their warship just as the Nemesis opened up with her main guns and vaporized the majority of them before the beam hit the closest enemy vessel. A similar beam shot out of the enemy craft and that hit grazed their warship. Their flotilla of defenders rushed between the two warships once more buying their ship a small reprieve. Unable to do anything more for the Nemesis, he forced a little more speed out of his engines. They needed to board their target before they lost their only warship.

~+~+~

Ironhide’s mouth flattened into a grim line as he waited for the inevitable invasion. They had set up a defensive perimeter around the medical center for the fight that was to come.

:Keep yur backs to the wall and keep an optic out for anyone who falls during the fight. We can’t let them take them or they’ll be slaved before you know it.:

And then he spotted it - green vortices opening up in several spots, he’d know that sort of glow anywhere.

:Here they come! Remember there is no reasoning with their troops - they are puppets!: Ironhide said and everyone heard the heavy rumble of his engine revving.

Prime’s voice came over the channel. :I may not be out there in frame, but I am in spark. Our enemies have only one goal - to enslave us - but we are free Cybertronians and we will defend our sparks, our home! We are no one’s slave!:

A roar of approval erupted around Ironhide bringing a grin to his face. 

“Not to mention that they ain’t touching our bitlets either! Not while I’m functioning,” the big red mech grumbled. 

“You said it,” the vehicons to either side of him replied with a nod of their helms.

He and Onslaught had done what they could to make sure the building was as well protected on all sides as possible, but the majority of their people had little experience. Since Prime had put him in command he had taken the main entrance and Onslaught and his team were on the side to his right while Ultra Magnus had taken the left side along with the few remaining Wreckers that were on the planet. The back had no entrances so he had put Hound along with most of Prime’s former team from Earth back there just in case they tried to blast a path to the inside. Vehicons and the former neutrals had been interspersed between those with more firepower. Shockwave had his own contingent of vehicons as well in order to protect the space bridge. That’s all they could afford to defend right now and even that was spreading them thinner than he would have liked. 

Ironhide braced his pedes as he waited for the first attackers to come through and his big gun was primed and ready to nail the first one he spotted.

“So, um, what exactly is a sharkticon? I mean we’ve all heard them talked about but you know -”

Ironhide snorted and spared a glance over at the vehicon, Steve, who had asked the question. He hoped he wasn’t about to scare them sparkless. 

“Think scraplets the size of a minibot with legs and arms. They’ll swarm ya if they can so best to keep them at range.”

A small shiver ran down the back strut of the mech but he kept his weapons at the ready. “Please tell me that you are exaggerating.”

“I wish I were.”

Just as he described them, a mob of the metallic beings rushed from the vortices heading for the ring of defenders. Good, they were leading with them when everyone was fresh. He’d rather deal with them now then have to wonder when they were going to show up.

:Onslaught, time for Bruticus to show them slaggers who they are messing with. Hound, you’re in charge of that side now,: Ironhide said.

:Kind of small for him to shoot, aren’t they?:

:Just stomp on them until you have to break apart.:

He couldn’t hear the sounds of them combining as the line began to open fire on the sharkticons, well, until he heard the dark laughter of Bruticus just before the sounds of his giant pedes as he began to gleefully stomp on the smaller creatures.

:Ironhide, we got exploding organics back here!: Arcee shouted over the channel.

:Sounds like that’s the plan,: Wheeljack said with a laugh.

:No, they are exploding when we shoot them - as in they are strapped with explosives!:

Swearing at himself for failing to see the feint for what it was, Ironhide shook his helm. :Ultra Magnus, go support the back. Don’t let them blow a hole in the building! Wheeljack, you’re in charge of that side now!:

:We are picking up signs that the ships are switching their targeting to Bruticus,: Metalhawk said.

“Bruticus, break down!” Ironhide bellowed at the combiner. They really needed to get the mech his own comm unit in this form. The giant helm swung to look at him. “They are about to fire on you!”

Recognition finally brightened the giant’s optics and the whole mech began to fall back into individuals. Ironhide charged forward to cover the recovering mecha just as a ray of energy began to scour the area where the combiner had just stood - all of the combiner team was still on their knees.

“Grab’em and get out of here!” Ironhide shouted over the din as the others began to lay down covering fire for those retrieving the fallen mecha since the closest sharkticons saw them as easy marks now and began to leap forward once more.

Onslaught was the closest to him and he helped him up, the leader of the combaticons leaned heavily on him as they began limping away. Nearby, two vehicons were attempting to get Blast Off while another group of neutrals were helping Vortex and Brawl. Several more mecha were rushing towards where Swindle swayed shaking his helm when the beam struck the hapless mech and his helpers. Screams of agony echoed from the rest of his team as Swindle and his assistants were instantly vaporized into ash. Ironhide lost his grip on Onslaught as the mech began to shake violently at the sudden breaking of their gestalt bond.

:We need medics here now! The combaticons are down - they just lost Swindle and I’m not sure who else just got destroyed,: Ironhide barked out.

Going for the quickest way to move the mech, he took hold of the shoulders and began to drag the mech back towards the building. Dimly he heard the wail of Ratchet’s siren as the medic roared up to him and helped him pull Onslaught up to the wall of the command center. Ironhide left him there and ran back out to help the rest of the mechs get back to the building. 

“Give me a boost so I can get back in there,” Onslaught said as he pushed against the wall while he tried to climb to his feet once more.

Ratchet laid a hand on his shoulder. “I’m telling you right now that you run a serious risk of spark damage if I do that. It’s already stressed from the shock of losing Swindle. Normally I would put you in stasis and let you reboot after a solar cycle down in order to minimize the damage.”

The tankformer shook his helm. “We don’t have the time or enough mechs to remove me from the fight for that long.”

The rest of his team sprawled near him but at his words they began to push upright as well.

“Fragging right. Me next. Those slaggers killed one of ours,” Vortex said.

“Yeah, he was an aft, but he was our aft and I always promised him that I would be the one to kill him if he did something stupid again,” Brawl growled out. “I owe them for that. Hit me too.”

Blast Off shook his helm and then shrugged his shoulders. “Me next. If I’m going down, it will be blasting them and not sitting on the sidelines waiting to be turned into their slave.”

Ratchet nodded. “Alright, this will get you back in the fight but eventually your systems will shut down anyway so set your chronometers for two groons. Get your afts back here when that runs out.”

Knock Out and Breakdown skidded to a halt around the remaining team and a moment later Ambulon ran up to join them.

“I thought I told you to keep an optic out on the four inside,” Ratchet said as he began the calculations needed for the four different mechs.

“You did, but I can work the front here easy enough and still be available should something happen inside that needs my attention. Right now they are just trying to keep the little ones distracted and I can be of use out here.”

After a brief consult between them, they spread themselves between the gestalt and began to administer the required jolts to get the mecha back in the fight.

Ironhide glanced back at four of their heavy hitters that were out of commission for the moment before he turned forward and roared with fury at the oncoming horde of enemies as he placed his frame between them and those he was trying to protect. The tide was turning but it wasn’t in their favor.

~+~+~

Metalhawk jogged down the corridor, the horde of vehicons at his back and the former Autobot at his side easily kept pace with him. Mecha peeled off at different junctions as the former crew headed towards their old battle stations.

“Have you ever been on a Decepticon warship?” Prowl asked.

“Not on the command deck -”

“We know it well, sir, the only one who knows it better is Soundwave. The controls are fairly standard. She’s a bit more responsive than most others in her weight class since Soundwave has been tweaking her since we left Cybertron.”

Metalhawk glanced back at the vehicon who spoke. Ping was the chosen designation based on the transponder code. Three more vehicons merely nodded at his statement.

“Good, we’ll need everything she’s got if we are to take out even one of those ships before she knocks us out of the sky.”

The command deck had the skeleton crew still on it and his mecha fell into their stations with a practiced ease.

“All power to engines and shields. We need to get her situated such that only one of their ships can fire on her at a time,” Metalhawk said.

He spared a glance at the nearly all white mech who had found a console and was pulling up the views from all the external cameras.

“So are you here to watch over me and make sure I don’t try and take over?”

Prowl’s stance didn’t change as he continued to work on the problem at hand. “Hardly. This is the best place to orchestrate air combat from and so I am here. I didn’t mention it down below, but I too fought against the Quintessons as well - they are a threat greater than anything else you have ever encountered in your functioning and you’d be a fool not to treat them as such.”

“Sir, we have incoming. Drones based on the scans and the first ship is within range of our main weapon.”

“Connect me to the general channel.”

“Done.”

:Please stay in your current trajectories as we are preparing to fire on the nearest vessel. We plan to try and keep it between us and the far one so be warned,: Metalhawk said.

He glanced towards the pair who were operating the weapons systems.

“Divert power from the shields to the main gun and then open fire with it. Take out as many drones as you can while avoiding our people.”

“Yes, sir!”

“I sent the coordinates to your station for the most effective shot,” Prowl said.

“Got it - coordinates locked on and firing!”

A swath of drones were vaporized and a cheer went up as the beam continued on to hit the Quintesson ship.

“Scans indicate superficial damage,” Ping said.

“They are returning fire,” Prowl said.

“Shields at maximum!”

The ship shuddered as the blow was absorbed. 

“Damage report.”

Ping worked quickly as he pulled up the reports. “Minor hull breech in the forward section but nothing critical was damaged. Their cannons are swinging away from us - looks like they are switching to the forces on the ground.”

“Must be Bruticus. Connect us to the general channel.”

“It’s live, sir.”

:We are picking up signs that the ships are switching their targeting to Bruticus,: Metalhawk said.

Metalhawk stared at the warships as they attempted to encircle his ship. “How long can we hold out?” 

“We won’t be able to keep this dance up for very long - less than a groon based on damage taken and the eventual moment when their second ship is finally able to flank us and fire upon us,” Prowl said.

“Then I suppose we’ll have to use the one thing we got going for us,” Metalhawk said.

“What’s that, sir?” Ping asked.

“We’ve got nothing to lose. All power to shields and engines. Get her going as fast as you can - we are taking one of those fraggers down with us before we return to the Well.”

~+~+~

He spun and rolled as he fired upon the drones in his path avoiding as many hits as possible knowing that getting Ricochet to the warship in one piece was their best chance at taking it down. Oh, if he made it to the command deck he would be bringing her to the ground - he would make sure of that. However, he had a whole ship full of enemies to go through first, and stealth was more likely to win in this situation.

They finally broke through the cloud of drones and only a short distance remained in order to reach the warship. A single ray of energy pulsed out from the vessel. 

:Roll!: Megatron barked out as he dove away from the death that now stalked them.

His escort scattered as well, two of them just barely avoiding the shot.

:Megatron, head for the vessel. We’ll give them something else to worry about,: Dreadwing said. :Everyone on me.:

The four flyers fell into formation and accelerated towards their target. Megatron could only watch as the turrets began to track his escort and he dove away from them while still aiming for the ship. The Cybertronians opened fire on the giant vessel looking as if a bunch of glitch-mice were trying to take down a titanium moosebot. The four harried the huge vessel, each shot looking as if it did little to nothing to it, but gamely they kept up the barrage. Then the warship opened up with its smaller guns. Their opening salvo brought down Dreadwing first and the flyer spiraled down, smoke trailing from the wreckage of his frame. In a matter of moments, they had picked off the rest of their escort.

Throwing all the power he could muster to his engines, Megatron shot towards the ship determined to make their sacrifice count.

:Get ready to detach when I get close.:

:Ready to go as soon as you get there.:

He came in fast, in a tight arc, and then the plating of the warship was within reach.

:Now!:

The sudden shift in weight distribution caused him to sway a bit but he quickly adjusted as he transformed and joined his companion on the hull of the warship.

“We won’t have long before they’ll send troops to investigate what we are doing here. Normally I would set some explosives, but I’d rather save as many for the Quints as I can - think your cannon can blast through this?”

Megatron stomped on the hull a few times before nodding. “Point blank range and maximum output should do it in a few shots.”

Ricochet pulled something out of his subspace and offered it to the former warlord. A single optical ridge raised at what looked like a cube of energon but it had an odd hue to it.

“I call it my suicide boost. Hasn’t failed me yet though,” Ricochet said with a grin. “Take half of it and I’ll take the rest. It’ll give all your systems an extra little oomph. Should give us an edge to get what needs to be done done.”

Without another thought, Megatron downed half of the cube before handing it back.

“It tastes like the worst slag.”

“Yeah, I’ve been afraid to tinker with the taste too much and risk losing the boost it offers.”

Already he could see output levels rising and felt a new surge of energy coursing through his system. Shifting power to his cannon, he began powering it up to its maximum yield.

“You know, I had scientists working on something just like this many vorns ago.”

Ricochet nodded and one edge of his lip curled upward. “Heard about that, didn’t they all die when their lab blew up and all their work was lost?”

“Yes, it went something like that.”

His system flashed that his weapon was ready and he shook his helm as he realized just what had really happened so long ago. He pressed the muzzle dead against the hull and fired. The hull glowed and he fired again and this time the ship was breeched. Working quickly he began enlarging the hole while the metal glowed a molten red. Before it had even cooled, Ricochet had dropped through the opening and Megatron followed suit hoping the smaller bot would be quick enough to get out of his way.

He landed with a heavy thud and already he could hear a warning klaxon going off. He stood in what looked like a supply room that was mostly empty and peering out of the door he saw that Ricochet had already started jogging down the corridor.

:Good luck and keep the sharkticons at a distance or they’ll swarm you under like giant mutant scraplets.:

He shut down the main comm line that the majority of them were using. He couldn’t afford to be worried about what was going on down there if he was going to make sure that this ship was taken out of commission. Checking the map that he had been given, Megatron headed in the opposite direction from where the smaller mech went. He pulled a spare blaster out of his subspace and strode down the hall. Ahead of him a group of some of the ugliest looking things he had ever seen were running towards him. More teeth than anything else, they must be the sharkticons that Ricochet warned him about. 

“Let’s see how well you stand up to me,” Megatron growled out as he began to fire.

Optics narrowed he continued to blast his way through the throng of defenders, none of them able to get close enough to the former gladiator in order to subdue him.

~+~+~

The surviving combaticons braced themselves next to Ironhide where they stood stalwart against waves of their attackers. Several guns, still smoking, lay at the red mech’s pedes, and he shifted weapons with an ease that bespoke of his long familiarity with them. Ironhide never took his optics off his enemies but he gave them a grin and a nod to the group.

“You’re tougher than you look and that’s saying something. I thought you were done for when you lost Swindle, but we’re gonna need everything you got in this fight.”

The combaticon leader dipped his helm at the words but let his gun speak for him as he blasted several enemies in quick succession.

:We require assistance at the space bridge,: Shockwave announced in his usual monotone voice.

:Scrub the data bank and retreat to the command center. We are under heavy fire ourselves and can’t send any mecha to you. Bluestreak, can you give them some covering fire?: Ironhide asked.

:It will take me a breem or two to get into a better position, but yeah we’ll be able to help them out then.:

:We will be overrun very shortly.:

“Slag it. Onslaught, hold the front,” the bulky red mech said.

Turning he ran up the stairs to the command center and tried to see where the structure of the space bridge stood on the far side of the plaza. A mixture of enemies surrounded the scientist with his contingent of guards. He jogged back down and stopped beside the tankformer.

“I’m gonna take a team and try and get Shockwave and his people back here. You’re in charge while I’m gone.”

Dark blue helm gave him a curt nod. “We’ll hold until you get back.”

Ironhide glanced around and squared his shoulders. There weren’t a lot of choices on who he would prefer to take, but at this point he couldn’t be picky. “Alright I need a few volunteers to come with me to escort the space bridge defenders back here.”

One neutral and two vehicons glanced his way before stepping towards him. He recognized Metalhawk’s shadow as he stalked to his side, Zetca; while the vehicons were the ones that had been beside him since the start, Steve and Ivan.

:I got a squad together and we are coming your way so start heading towards us,: Ironhide said.

:Scrubbing the drive and then we’ll move out.:

Under the barrage of gunfire from their forces, Ironhide began pushing his way through their enemies. He formed the tip of the wedge while the other three fanned to his sides. They cut a swath through their attackers and ahead of them they could see the others blasting a path towards them. New vortices spiraled open on top of them and more sharkticons spewed out on top of them.

Ironhide staggered under the weight of these new assailants as nearly a dozen of the things fell on him. Gnawing at his arms, they tried to disarm him, literally. Growling he smashed his blaster into the face of one and had to sweep it off his arm before it could bite down on his weapon. The rest of his team were just as laden as he was although he knew his armor was thicker than any of the others. He turned his gun at Zetca and began picking them off the other bot. Seeing what he was doing, Steve and Ivan attempted to do the same thing for each other, but were taking damage faster than they could clear their frames.

:We’re getting overrun, Shockwave. You’re gonna have to blast your way to us.:

:Understood.:

“How many of these slag eating things do they have?” Zetca spat out as he blasted away at them.

“More of these fraggin things than I ever wanted to see again,” Ironhide said. More than they could handle was what he left unsaid. Unless those ships were brought down soon, he feared they all would be swarmed under.

~+~+~

Their warship shuddered under the hail of attack from the Quintesson warship but so far their shields were holding as they accelerated towards it.

“Can we ground bridge as many of our crew as we can down before impact?” Metalhawk asked.

Prowl shook his head. “Not if we want to keep our shields operational and the ship moving. No, they’ll have to use the escape pods.”

Metalhawk glanced around at his crew. “Open up the main channel.”

“The line is yours, sir.”

:Attention crew, we are preparing to ram one of the ships. Please evacuate to your nearest escape pod and rejoin the fight down below. It’s been an honor to defend our world with you.:  


The crew on the deck shared a look and remained where they were.

“Didn’t you all hear me? Why aren’t you leaving?” 

Ping shrugged with one shoulder. “I think we’d all rather finish the fight here than be picked off down below from an escape pod. Those things only hold one of us at a time and we always get a bit scrambled upon impact in them. You’ve got wings, sir. You should fly down and rejoin the others. We’ll make sure she hits.”

A wry grin crossed Metalhawk’s face. “I changed my alt mode long ago; my flight form has no weapons and not much armor. I don’t think I’d last long in the air so I think I’ll take my chances here as well.”

“The other ship must have realized what we are trying to do and is attempting evasive maneuvers,” Prowl said. “I’m compensating.”

Metalhawk leaned against the console as he stared at the vid screen showing the other ship. “Can we go any faster?”

Prowl canted his head for a moment and then a small smile crept across his face. “I believe I can reroute some of the auxiliary power into the engines giving us a temporary increase; however if we fail to impact we will crash regardless as our system will have to be rebooted afterwards.”

“How sure are you that you can hit her?”

“With the data I have now - ninety-eight percent.”

“Do it then. Open a channel to Starscream.”

“It’s open, sir.”

:We are going to ram that ship in front of us. Make sure you keep everyone out of our way.:

:What! Why would you waste our only warship in such a useless act?:

:Because Prowl has assured me that we have no hope of bringing even one of these fraggers down otherwise.:

The line went silent for a moment. :Good luck and may Primus watch over you.:

“I’ve rerouted the systems and just awaiting your command,” Prowl said.

Metalhawk gazed around at his crew one last time. “Do it. Let’s show these afts who they are messing with.”

A cheer went up as the warship suddenly rocketed forward with a speed that never should have been possible by such a huge vessel. The Quintesson ship attempted to evade but it was even larger and less nimble in the upper atmosphere than the _Nemesis_ and ended up only showing its broadside to them. As they closed the distance, Metalhawk sank down on the captain’s chair.

:Brace for impact,: Prowl said over the ship’s channel.

The main vid screen filled with the view of the ship as they rapidly closed the distance and then they could see the individual plates of the hull. Metalhawk’s hands clenched around the arms of his chair as he sent a silent prayer to their god and hoped he was listening. Let this last act of theirs help save their world.

~+~+~

Sensors pinged that enemies were approaching his rear, so Megatron shifted his stance in order to fire down both ends of the corridor. Every hit took out at least one enemy sometimes more but the stream of them looked to have no end. There was only one option to try and clear a path to where he needed to go - his cannon. He diverted power to it until the muzzle began to glow and then he unleashed it in the direction that the nearest lift lay. Whatever it was that Ricochet gave him did seem to add a little extra to everything as the corridor in front of him was cleared of his foes. Grinning to himself he took off at a run down the hall; although the Quintessons had made the interior spacious enough that he could move easily down them, they weren’t wide enough to allow him to fly through them. Every now and then he would turn a blaster behind him and fire at those chasing him, the sound of their feet clanged out a continuous warning to him. There was only so many times he could fire his cannon before it totally drained him of energy even with that special mix still surging through his lines so he held it in reserve for now.

The air crackled around him and he turned his gaze up just in time to see a vortex open up above him and another group of sharkticons leapt out of it and landed on him. Snarling in outrage, he grabbed a hold of the one that had landed on his helm and threw it against the wall where it became embedded with only its stubby legs kicking futilely in the air. Knowing he couldn’t reach all of the ones on his back, he turned and threw himself against the nearest wall causing his back struts to protest a little but the sharkticons took the brunt of the blow as he crushed them under his greater mass. As he started to run once more, he plucked the ones still gnawing at him off and began crushing them with his bare servos - that was one thing that he had learned as a gladiator - you never left an opponent functional while the fight was still going on. The remains were dropped, leaving a grim trail as he continued deeper into the ship. According to the schematics he had been given around the next corner should be the lift that would take him to the level with the command deck. He skidded around the corner and found a door but when he flung it open, it was obvious that it was only a storage area. He attempted to contact Ricochet but at first got nothing but static and then the connection snapped in place.

:Your map is not very helpful,: Megatron snarled as he turned to face those of his enemies who caught up to him.

:Say thank you for patching our comm line into their system otherwise you’d never been able to contact me. But yeah, I’ve run into a problem a time or two, but I did manage to find a console which I just got into. Give me a klik to see if I can find something to help you.:

:Can you do something about all these sharkticons? They are opening up bridges on top of me - literally.:

:Not them doing that, it’s their masters. If I can shut down their control of the slaves for at least this ship then they’ll revert back to their more mindless state and be a passel of trouble for the Quints as well.:

With his back to a wall, he settled into a defensive posture in order to keep the fraggers off of him before they managed to do some real damage. A few of the organic slaves joined the slaughter - their eyes empty and for a moment he felt a little pity for them before he had to kill them as well. Just as suddenly as it had begun, the energy on the battlefield changed. The sharkticons began attacking the organic slaves along with throwing themselves at him. However, a light had come on in the eyes of those former slaves and he noticed that their collars had stopped glowing and they turned from him and instead began to defend themselves from their former allies. Seeing an opportunity in the divided ranks, Megatron shifted from killing all of them to just the metallic creatures in front of him.

“Do any of you know how to get to the command deck?” Megatron shouted over the din of combat, hoping that at least one of them spoke galactic common.

One of them turned its bulbous eyes towards him. “We know Cybertronian,” it said although its inflection was off. “And I know the way, but it won’t do you any good since it is locked from the likes of us.”

The smile that Megatron gave them had the former slaves flinching away.

“Trust me, I’ll be getting onto it. I have enough power left for a few more blasts from my cannon. Get me there so I can bring this ship down.”

A neighbor of the one that spoke up as it grabbed the other’s arm. “You can’t do it! The master will punish us all if you help him!”

There was a subtle shift of its posture which Megatron only caught by chance.

“We are free from their control for the moment and I would use that time to strike back at them as much as I can. This is our first chance for freedom in a very long time. I’d rather go out fighting with this Cybertronian -”

“Megatron, my name is Megatron. And you are?”

“It - that’s the name I was always called.”

“Right, well just like me you can now pick one of your own choice for a name. As for the masters, I’m sure that my friend is the one that freed you, so you see we will be bringing this ship down sooner or later. I prefer sooner as my family is down below. Lead me there and take your freedom from the Quintessons.” 

One of them turned his face downward. “What’s the point - we have no where we can go and we can only survive on your world as long as our rations last.”

Tamping down on his annoyance at their defeatist attitude, Megatron took in a long in-vent. “We have allies on an organic world - one that might be compatible with your people and pit knows they could use someone else besides us telling them about the danger of the galaxy they live in.”

“Truly? You aren’t lying to us, are you?” a new voice asked.

“I swear on the sparks of my sparklings - and that is a vow I do not take lightly. Aid me and I will do everything in my power to find you a place where you can live and be free.”

And that was how he came to find himself surrounded by the former slaves all of them now wearing the same determined look on their face. 

“This way,” It said as he pointed back the way Megatron had just come from.

He smashed through the few sharkticons left in front of them but without their masters giving them commands they were far easier to deal with now. His new companions lead him through several side halls and every now and then a few new organic creatures joined their brethren on this new mission. Finally, they arrived in front of a large industrial sized elevator.

:Found your schematic -:

The ship shuddered under some unknown attack. His new allies gazed at him expectantly.

:What the frag was that? And I don’t need it now, I have some of the their former slaves helping me now that they are free. I made it to a lift and about to head up. How are things on your end?:

:That was the _Nemesis_ taking out the other ship and a piece of it hit this one. Oh, frag it all. They are trying to make a run for it. I’ll try and lock them out as long as I can but I need to disable their engines now. Listen, I found out that this unit is nowhere near where they were supposed to be. They were assigned a quadrant of space far from here but they had been cultivating Swindle hoping he would lead them to where the majority of us were located. They followed him here and kept their plans secret hoping to prove themselves by capturing us. So the good news is that when their people come looking for them - it will be in the wrong place, far away from here. Now get out of here before she blows. I gotta go - tell Sounders that I’m sorry but I’m not going to be able to drink that vat of highgrade he promised me.:

Megatron nodded grimly to himself. He didn’t understand exactly what had gone on between those two, however he knew that there was as a goodbye of some sort in that message.

“That will take you up to the main deck, but is this ship under attack as well?”

Megatron examined the control panel closely. “That was our ship taking down the other warship and I guess a piece hit this one. Which button will take me to the command deck? And then you all should head for any escape pods -”

One of the aliens darted inside and typed in something on the panel on the wall. “There - now it will take you to where you need to go - I clean on that floor so I know the access code. The escape pods won’t work for us though.”

“Of course not,” Megatron said with a heavy ex-vent. Every interaction with the Quintesson slaves only reinforced just how bad their enemy really was. “Head out of this area - my companion is going to do something to the engines and I have no idea how big this explosion will be. Not far from where you met me there is a storage closet that we dropped into from the hull. Get out through there if there is no other way. If I don’t see you again, make sure you ask for Optimus Prime and tell him my promise to you. He’ll honor it.”

As one, they bowed their heads to him. “Thank you, Megatron. We will remember your words.”

He gave them a nod and turned back towards the elevator. The deck under his pedes began to vibrate as the engines began to gather power for a push away from Cybertron. He needed to buy Jazz some more time so he climbed into the lift and let the doors close behind him. The ride was short but he had time to prime his cannon before the door slid open revealing several Quintessons, had to be them as they were the tentacle heads he had heard them called before. Their eyes widened at his sudden appearance and with a feral snarl he began shooting everyone in sight making sure to take out as much of the electronics as possible. The ship began to tremble under him and he could see warning lights begin to flash on the few remaining consoles before he realized that Jazz had done his job. He shifted his cannon up to fire into the hull hoping to open a direct path out that way, but he only had an instant to think that he wished that he could see his twins one more time before an explosion ripped through the crippled vessel and he was lost to the dark.

~+~+~

:NO!: Bluestreak screamed over the channel. :They got Ironhide and his team! Oh, Primus they just took Shockwave and all those vehicons as well!:

:Where are they now?: Optimus asked as he stared down at the twins wondering how he was going to keep them with him and still enter the fight.

:They pulled them through bridges! They must have been brought back to the ships!:

:Bluestreak, bring your team back here. Everyone retreat inside. We will move to the basement in order to narrow the area that they can attack us from,: Prime said.

He swept the twins up into his arms and looked around for anything he could put them in. Then it struck him, he remembered Bulkhead complaining about Miko hiding in his interior one time after he had returned to root mode.

“Chromedome, will you give me a hand?”

“Of course! What do you need?” the mech asked as he shot to his feet from the table where he had been sitting at.

Optimus handed the pair to him although the look they gave him was one of uncertainty about this change.

“Key?” Twin Twist asked hesitantly from this new spot. He wanted to be back in his creator’s arms where he could feel that spark since Tor was so far away from them that they couldn’t really feel him anymore. Topspin gave an urgent sounding beep before dropping his toy so he could he lean with his arms stretched out towards the big red and blue bot.

He gave them a warm smile as he opened his chest plate just enough to get his hand into it. He found the seat of his cab and concentrated as he forced micro-transformations in his frame in order to widen the area and change the configuration of where the seat sat. Satisfied that the long bench was in the best possible place, he held out his free hand for the pair. They settled back into his palm but their optics gave a worried glance up at him as he drew them closer to his partially open chassis.

“I promise this is only for a little while. I need to keep you safe while I make sure all other friends make it safely back inside. Can you be good and sit in there until I let you out?”

Optics wide with concern the pair finally nodded and he carefully placed them on the seat still clutching their little toys. He closed his chest but not too tightly so that some light might still reach them. He felt their tension rising but before he could do anything the Matrix began to hum softly to them. He sent a pulse of his love to the pair and they settled down. Pulling a blaster out of his subspace, he raced out of the room. Chromedome chased behind him as they barreled towards the main entrance.

“We stay near the doors and provide cover fire for the others.”

“I hope Rewind is safe.”

“I did not hear Bluestreak saying that he had any problems so I think they have been able to keep away from any pursuit. I know you are worried, but Bluestreak has the experience to keep all of them safe.” 

The hallway had already begun to fill with mecha as their people began to retreat inside. They had barely made it out the door when the sky bloomed with fire as their warship and the Quintesson vessel collided and then a shockwave from the impact swept through the colony and flattened many of the smaller mecha as well as their attackers.

“Primus,” Optimus whispered as his optics took in the sight of flaming debris falling throughout the area.

He leapt down the stairs helping anyone up who looked like they needed a servo. 

“Inside. Come on. Everyone in.”

Turning his gaze outward again he noticed something else had changed. The organic slaves now stood huddled together looking anxiously around at not only the Cybertronians but the sharkticons as well. That’s when he noticed that their collars no longer glowed with power. For the moment they were no longer under the sway of the Quintessons - they were free.

The sharkticons were rolling to their feet as well and charged at whoever was closest that wasn’t one of them. Seeing an opportunity, Optimus waved at the closest group of organics.

“Come join us, you will be safe in here. You are free now.”

“Whoa! Wait a kilk, they were shooting at us not that long ago,” Chromedome said.

“Look at them. They have been under our enemies control and have nowhere else to turn to. The only reason they were here shooting at us was because long ago their world fell to the Quintessons. We must give them a chance to prove themselves.” 

Several other mecha around them were shaking their heads and looked uneasy at the thought of these things among them. Before any could voice their concern however, Ratchet charged around the corner leading some of their defenders towards the entrance. The medic got a look in his optics when he spotted Prime standing outside with a blaster in each servo.

“You! What did I tell you about staying with the sparklings? I will reformat you if do not get your aft back inside!”

Optimus held a hand up as if to stave off a wrench to the helm. “Peace, Ratchet. The twins are with me - inside my chassis where my cab was. I would never leave them alone at this time.”

Ratchet threw his hands up in the air. “Save me from idiots. That is not exactly what I had in mind when I said you need to keep them close!”

“I know but I need to be out here until everyone has made it to safety.”

“Optimus! There’s Bluestreak and the others,” Chromedome shouted as he leapt down the stairs.

Two vehicles with a small mech riding on top of the roof of the largest one weaved through the debris and clumps of enemies. Some of the sharkticons spotted the moving targets and raced after them.

“Give them cover fire,” Prime ordered as he unleashed his own weapons.

The closet group of slaves whispered amongst themselves for a brief time before they hurried over towards the building dropping their weapons as they went.

“Please release us from these collars before the other ship takes control of us. We wish to be free,” the lead one said with his arms spread wide.

“Then grab your weapons and come join us,” Optimus said, “we are still fighting for our freedom so you will need to as well.”

They scrambled backwards grabbing their dropped guns before rushing towards the larger Cybertronian. Several other small bands saw the one group making a break for the cover of the mecha they had been sent to capture and followed them. Optimus continued firing at anything that threatened either his people or these new refugees. The first group reached the stairs but instead of taking cover behind the Cybertronians, they turned and began to fire upon any sharkticons that threatened them or their new allies. It didn’t take long for them to clear the way for those retreating to the building.  
Chromedome shifted from pede to pede as he waited for Bluestreak came to a halt near him. His tires had barely stopped rolling before he was helping his partner off of the other mech.

“Thank Primus you are okay,” Chromedome said as he enfolded the other bot into his arms.

“I’m fine but I thought you were going to wait inside?”

“I came out with Prime when he called for the retreat.”

Optimus smiled behind his battlemask but turned to find Ratchet still glaring at him; perhaps a little misdirection would be beneficial to him.

“I don’t suppose you can help them out of those control devices?”

A single digit poked towards him. “You need to get inside and get the sparklings out of there. We’ve got it covered out here and yes, if the collars are powered down they will be easy to remove. Ricochet must have done that. We’ll take care of them. Now shoo!”

Conceding the point, he turned to head inside but was stopped when the sky glowed impossibly bright although the rising of their sun was still hours away. He barely had time to swing his helm around to see the second warship rip itself to pieces and his spark tightened in pain at the destruction he saw - no one could possibly survive that.

“No!” he cried out as he shifted his chestplates open and withdrew the pair who stared up at him with wide optics and their plating trembled in fear. “Ratchet!” 

“It’s alright, Optimus! Megatron has to be alive still otherwise the twins would be in far more distress! It’s your panic that is scaring them at the moment. Ambulon, do you still have those doses I gave you earlier?”

The other medic nodded and held them out to Ratchet who took one vial.

“No, keep one. We do this together. Sedate Twin Twist and I’ll take care of Topspin when I give the word. We’ll sedate them now because by the AllSpark I just can’t see how he survived that. They’ll have a better chance of surviving his death if they are in stasis already.”

“Ready,” Ambulon said. 

“Now.”

The twins relaxed as they were forced into a medically induced recharge. Optimus in-vented in relief now that the bond was no longer filled with their fear and his. Panic rose in him again as he realized that the newspark was quiet as well now.

“What about the newspark?”

Ratchet’s optics held a soft sorrow as he shook his head. “I just don’t know. We’ll have to watch it closely, but this early in its formation - if Megatron is gone - I’m sorry.”

“The twins are so young, are you sure they can survive if he does not make it?”

“Their sparks are strong still and so long as they still have you I think they can survive. Now more than ever you must keep them with you and not force them to leave you if at all possible,” Ratchet answered and he rested a hand on Optimus’ shoulder, “I’m sorry there is nothing else I can do for them or the newspark. We just have to wait and hope.”

The Matrix pulsed brightly in him causing gleams of light to escape his chassis.

_“Your friend is correct. They are strong and will survive this no matter what happens to Megatron. However, Megatron lives, for how long I cannot say but he always had a strong spark. As for the newspark, she will live to be the next Prime should he return to the Well as I can save her. Now tell my people these words - you’ve won the day and took another step forward in forging a new path. I am proud of you all.”_

Sometime during the whole event he had fallen to his knees, gears whirring he forced himself upright and scanned the gathered mecha and aliens around him.

“Primus has asked me to tell you this: You’ve won the day and took another step forward in forging a new path. He is proud of you all.”

Optimus cradled the twins close to him as he turned his gaze outward, the pockets of burning wreckage and buildings reminded him exactly what they had lost today. Yes, they had won but right now it felt like a hollow victory - they were merely the only survivors left standing.


	18. A Survivor

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now to pick up the pieces.
> 
> Feedback is appreciated and encouraged. And feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed.
> 
> Enjoy!

Optimus gazed at the sparklings as they lay in his palm one last time before carefully tucking them back into the special space he had created in his chassis. Cybertronians and aliens watched the area around them - no doubt looking for any surviving sharkticons and his only concern now was for keeping their people and these new allies safe. Spotting the bright red finish of Knock Out, he knew what they needed to do next.

“Knock Out, Breakdown - you two know the _Nemesis_ the best so take a team and search it for anyone who might have survived that crash. Leave no space unchecked. Keep a record of those that lost their spark as well. No one will be forgotten.”

The pair nodded at his words and began picking out a crew to help them with their task. 

“Ratchet, lead a group to go check out the warship that was crashed into by ours. We have to assume our friends were taken into a hold somewhere on one of those two ships. That one is more likely to have mecha that survived and they will need your assistance.”

“Of course. You are going to stay here then and watch over the combaticons?” Ratchet asked, although his tone was more statement than question.

Prime shook his helm and turned his gaze towards where he last saw the warship go down. “No, I am going to check out the last ship. If Megatron is alive still then I am the only one strong enough to get him out of there. I do not know how anyone survived that explosion but we must make sure that no one is trapped in there.”

With a glint in his optics, Ratchet poked one finger at his Prime. “You should remain here. We have no idea how long the twins will be in recharge and being out there with them where you might run into sharkticons seems like a bad idea all around.”

“I am one of the few uninjured and the strongest mech still standing. Ricochet is also unaccounted for and if Megatron lives he might as well. I will be cautious with the twins and should they begin to show any distress I will return here as soon as I can, but I must try and do what I can to bring them back alive.”

Ratchet’s frame sank just a little bit and he nodded. “I know. Just be careful, there are some things that I can’t replace you know.”

Optimus smiled and laid a palm on his old friend’s shoulder. “I will be careful. Ambulon, will you stay here and watch over the injured for us?” The medic dipped his helm before Prime’s optics swept over the gathered crowd and an idea came to him. 

Although his spark was not in it, he forced a smile to his lip plates and waved over at one of the nearby aliens. “Perhaps some of your people survived as well. If you could help us search the wreckage we can help you recover anyone who survived along with any supplies you might need.”

The large eyes blinked rapidly before hope bloomed across his face. “You would help us?”

“We help each other - you know the ships and we have the strength to move debris that you cannot. So you see, we are stronger together than apart.”

“Yes, we will help - we can show you where any prisoners would be taken.”

“Excellent, if some some of you go with Ratchet and some come with me we can more efficiently search for survivors faster. Everyone remember to watch for any surviving sharkticons.”

A large blocky frame pushed through the crowd, and it was a relief to see that Ultra Magnus still functioned. The mech was mostly unharmed although there appeared to be a few scorch marks and even a couple of bite marks on his frame.

“What should we do if we find any Quintessons alive?” 

“Kill them!”

“Yeah!”

Optimus held up a hand. “Please, we are better than that.”

Ratchet shook his helm. “I’m sorry, Optimus, but we can’t afford to be that forgiving. Not only do we have no place to hold a Quintesson prisoner for any length of time, but we can’t send them somewhere else either - and most especially not to Earth. They lie and twist anything they can so that they can get their way. Imagine if they should somehow send a message back to Quintessa then not only would we have a fleet arriving here - but the humans would suffer the same fate as us and they have even less of an ability to mount a defense against them. No, I hate to say this but we have no choice but to remove any possibility of them being able to call for reinforcements.”

Optimus took a moment to scan the gathered mecha and at the hard expression on everyone’s faces his spark ached. His thoughts then turned to what might have been had their enemies won the day and captured the twins and he found he could not refute his friend’s words.

“Although it goes against everything I hold dear - I see your point. We cannot afford to let any Quintesson live to tell their own about us - but please, if you find one just do it quickly. I will not condone torturing anyone, not even one of them.”

Turning, he stepped down the stairs and began the long trek towards where the one ship had exploded. The sound of pedes behind him had him turning to find Arcee, Bumblebee and a small group of the aliens trotting along in his wake.

“We are with you, Prime,” Bumblebee said with a nod.

“It might be faster if we switched to wheels though,” Arcee said. Her optics flitted among the aliens before turning back to Optimus. “I think between the three of us we should be able to carry them along with us so no one gets left behind.”

“Yes, I suppose it would be.” He pulled the twins out once more and although they looked peaceful now, his spark clenched in sympathy when he thought of their grief should they be unable to keep Megatron alive.

“I’ll hold them while you transform and then tuck them in for you,” Bee said.

“Thank you.”

He carefully deposited the pair into Bee’s waiting hands and shifted to his alt mode. His door swung open and the sparklings were placed on the seats and he buckled them in.

“I am afraid I cannot let any of you into my cab as my sparklings are spread across my seats and I do not want them to panic if they awoke and found you sitting next to them. However, I can carry a great deal of weight so you will not slow me down so please find a spot and hold on,” Prime’s voice rang out from the vehicle.

Wary glances between the aliens before the first one climbed onto the deck plates by his trailer hitch. Several others joined him and soon his back was filled with riders all hanging onto whatever they could find. Two more climbed onto Arcee’s seat while the last three stuffed themselves into Bee’s vehicle. Satisfied that everyone was situated, he started out slow but increased his speed as fast as he dared while fires and the possibility of enemies still loomed around them.

He weaved his way through small piles of smoldering wreckage looking for anything large enough that might have survivors in it. A timid rap against his roof had Optimus turning his attention to his riders.

“Over there,” one of them said pointing at a large hunk of ship, “that looks like part of the hall that leads to some of the holding areas.”

He turned in the direction indicated and slowed as they neared a large section of one of the ships. As soon as he had stopped, the aliens leapt off and began picking their way through debris. Arcee was first at his door and he released his sparklings from their seatbelts so she could pull them out. He transformed and retrieved the pair before placing them in his chest cavity once more. Bumblebee soon joined them and they followed behind their guides.

The yellow scout stopped and gazed up at the part of the wreck in front of them.

“How could they possibly do this much damage? I mean I know Megatron had a fusion cannon and Ricochet most likely had some explosives on him, but still - all that appears to be left of the ship is several large hunks.”

Arcee shrugged a shoulder. “Remember we blew up a space bridge by altering the flow of energy through it. They most likely did something like that.”

The sound of an engine had all three of them pulling out weapons and assuming a defensive posture. They relaxed when they recognized Soundwave’s slender flight form as it circled overhead. He must have spotted them because the former spymaster dove towards where they stood before transforming and dropping down in front of them and landed gracefully on his pedes. 

“Soundwave, I’m glad to see you are functioning. Were you able to block the Quintessons from calling for help?” Optimus asked. 

“Yes, Laserbeak and I were able to block all outgoing signals and destroyed several escape pods that attempted to flee as well,” Soundwave said as he glanced around at the small group surrounding Prime. “The twins?”

Optimus laid one palm over his chassis. “Safe for now, they live although the medics put them in stasis in case Megatron returns to the Well.”

Soundwave’s helm dipped. “I see.”

“We need to find him and Ricochet along with any of our people that were taken prisoner onto these ships. Our new friends here are helping us search for them as well as any of their own that might still live. Have you seen any signs of life among the wreckage?”

“Negative, although the hulls are too thick for my scanners to penetrate with my instruments alone. Laserbeak is checking out a different section not far from here while I planned on checking through this one.” The visor turned towards Prime. “Shouldn’t you remain back with the medics for when the sparklings wake up?”

“Don’t worry, Prime here promised Ratchet he would return if the pair showed signs of distress,” Bumblebee said. “And we’ll make sure he honors that promise. The last thing we can afford is to lose them two now.”

Soundwave nodded at the scout’s words and he led the little group as they crept carefully through the warped plates of metal. Prime turned on his headlights and the others followed suit allowing some light to illuminate their way. One of the organics put a hand up when Arcee stepped up to what looked like a door.

“No! Not that one! That is the holding area for the sharkticons - see this symbol here that’s what that means. Don’t let them out!”

The femme gave a quick nod and quickly stepped back. “Good to know. Don’t open anything with that symbol.”

They continued on and soon came across another door. This one however had their allies leaping towards it as they attempted to pry open the door. One of them turned back towards Prime and waved at him.

“This one holds our people! Please, help us!” 

“Of course. Soundwave, will you assist me?”

“Let me,” The spymaster said as he stepped up to the door. His tentacles shot out and grasped various points on the door and with his servos he began to work the door open ignoring the protests of the metal; once it was pushed aside only darkness greeted them from the inky blackness of the room.

“Bumblebee come stand beside me so we can light the area,” Optimus said.

“Sure thing, boss.”

Together the two Cybertronians stood at the opening and their headlights brought some welcome light into the darkness. The smaller aliens rushed inside and began looking through the debris of their living quarters. Cries of dismay echoed in the area as they uncovered several broken bodies of their comrades.

“Arcee, will you go and aid them since you are the smallest of us?”

The femme glanced at Optimus but stepped gingerly into the area. She helped them move broken beds and other things aside as they combed through the room. A soft in-vent from Soundwave had Prime turning to look at the mech.

“Laserbeak just gave me the signal that he found someone alive.”

“How? I did not hear anything over the channel.”

“When the _Nemesis_ went down she took with her our main communication array - our comm lines only have a limited range at the moment, at least until we get a new tower up and running, so we agreed on using our bond to alert the other one if one of us found someone.”

“Bumblebee, stay here and help our new friends; I will go with Soundwave and see if we can rescue whoever it is that Laserbeak found.”

Bumblebee dipped his helm. “We got this, Optimus. I hope you find them both.”

“As do I, Bumblebee.”

Soundwave had already begun to move out of their chunk of the ship seemingly having no need of any light to pick his way. Optimus followed behind him, stepping warily around debris knowing that any mistep on his part could harm those he carried inside if he fell. As soon as they reached the outside, Soundwave began jogging in a different direction.

“This way. The next piece isn’t far from here.”

It didn’t take long before another chunk of the ship loomed in front of them and it had taken out part of a building before coming to rest on the road. The sky was just beginning to brighten as the sun rose over the horizon but he kept his headlights on as he picked his way into the wreckage. Laserbeak shot out into the pre-dawn sky over their heads before wheeling around and zooming back inside.

:I found him! Megatron is alive. He’s buried under a lot of debris up ahead. Hurry!:

They struggled to keep up with the small flyer as he led them through the remains of the warship. Laserbeak darted through a partially open door but the two mechs were far too large to get through the crack.

“Take that side. Together we will force it open,” Optimus said.

They forced the opening wider and found themselves staring into the remains of an elevator shaft. Thankfully it appeared the craft had tilted onto its side as they could walk down it to where Laserbeak waited at another hatch. This one however had been bent outward by the impact of the elevator car itself before the vessel had crashed. The two mechs took hold of one side and together began forcing their way in. The shriek of the metal rang in their audials but eventually it gave way to their combined strength. Soundwave was through first but Prime was close on his heels. 

Optimus stared at what once must have been the bridge of the Quintesson warship. Huge sections of the console had been blasted and if he was forced to guess, he would say it had been done by a fusion cannon which meant Megatron was in here somewhere. What looked like the remains of three organics, most likely Quintessons based on the tenatcles, were strewn around the space. Soundwave stabbed each one through the central body mass but they were already dead. He spun around at the sound of some debris cascading down. 

“There!” Soundwave said.

At first it looked like a hunk of metal from the ship but then Optimus realized it was part of Megatron’s pauldron - one of the spikes that the twins had frequently clung to. It took both of them working as quickly as they dared in order to shift all the debris off of the other mech. The frame was badly damaged, one arm and one leg just barely attached still and it appeared as if the explosion had tried to force Megatron through the hull. Energon oozed from numerous gashes as they pulled him free. Soundwave pulled some supplies out of his subspace and began putting rudimentary patches on his former leader.

“I did what I could so he shouldn’t leak out on the way back but I don’t know how long he will survive without immediate attention.”

“We have to get him out of here and back to the medics.”

Prime’s face was grim as he squatted and wrapped his arms around the center of Megatron’s huge frame before he hauled him up. His joints protested this new load, but he had thrown this mech around the battlefield so by Primus he was going to get him out of here now. Soundwave grabbed hold of the lower half and between the two of them they wrestled the former gladiator back the way they had just come. Their trip out was much slower but they made steady progress. 

:Laserbeark, search for Ricochet now. We’ve got Megatron thanks to you.:

:On it, boss!: Laserbeak said just before he soared off hunting for the next chunk of the ship.

Their trip was laborious and the mech they carried didn’t even twitch, if not for the soft wheeze of his vents they would have assumed he had returned to the Well already. As they came around the edge of a building a pair of sharkticons leapt out of the dark towards them, maws gaping open showing rows of razor sharp teeth. Soundwave smoothly switched his tentacles in place of his hands so that they now bore his former leader’s weight. His hands pulled out blaster’s, from where Optimus wasn’t sure, but without breaking their rhythm he shot both of them through the head. His guns disappeared once more and then his hands took up the weight again.

Optimus concentrated on taking the fastest route back while he trusted his companion to make sure that nothing would stop their forward movement. They traversed the wasteland that their colony had become and after what seemed like an eternity; the medical building finally appeared not far from them. He knew when they had been spotted by the shouts and then Ambulon was next to them, scanner busy as they walked.

“Primus, what happened to him?”

“Laserbeak found him under some wreckage and it appears as if the explosion catapulted him into the hull. We found him in what was left of the bridge. Will he survive?” Optimus asked.

“Honestly, I’m surprised he’s alive right now. But we will do our best, Prime.”

“That is all I can ask of anyone. I am just worried since there is more than just his spark on the line should his spark gutter. Where should we put him?”

Ambulon satisfied at what he saw on his machine opened the door to the building. “Take him to the first operating suite. I’ll get started on stabilizing him so we can began to repair him.”

They deposited him on the requested table and then Prime found himself being steered into Ratchet’s office by Soundwave. He opened his mouth to protest but a cube of energon was placed in his servo before he could get any words out and a gentle push found him sitting in the medic’s chair.

“Drink this and stay here. Should the unthinkable happen, the twins will need to be here if they are to have any chance at all of surviving. Leave it to the rest of us to find everyone who is still missing.”

“But there is so much to do. The twins are still quiet,” Optimus said. He drank down the energon he had been given but then attempted to stand up but a firm hand on his shoulder stopped him. 

Soundwave pulled off his mask with his other hand just to show Prime that he was serious about what he was saying. “The newspark has only your spark to sustain it right now. I know how much of a drain the twins were on Megatron so please do us all a favor from worrying about you and all of the little ones. We will come and get you if we need you that badly. Now pull the twins out and go lay down with them. I’m sure Ratchet won’t mind you using his berth in here.”

“But -”

“If Megatron was awake right now that’s what he would be telling you as well so don’t make me go get Ratchet to yell at you. The only one we needed your help to retrieve was Megatron so you’ve done your part.”

The somber look in those optics forced Optimus to ex-vent. “I concede the point to you.” 

His chestplate cracked open enough for him to reach in and he pulled the twins out. They lay peacefully in his palm and he glanced up at his companion.

“You know Megatron said that you used to get your point across to him with very few words. I am not sure why I got the lecture instead.”

Soundwave’s optics shifted down and once he had satifisifed himself that the sparklings were fine he returned his gaze to Optimus’ once more. “A mutual friend suggested that I start using my voice since there were those who would listen now. I assumed you would respond better to that than how I dealt with Megatron. I promise someone will come and get you if we need you.”

“Thank you, Soundwave. I will remain here.”

The former spymaster gave him a small smile and a nod before replacing his mask as he left the office. 

Staring down at the twins he realized he had left something behind. It only took a few moments for him to find the toys the twins had lost in his interior and place them on the desk. Satisified that those things wouldn’t be lost in his frame now; he lowered the lights and grabbed the small blanket off the berth. He just barely squeezed his much larger frame onto the cot and arranged the twins on top of his chassis before tucking the blanket around them. He shuttered his optics and tried not to think about all those still missing and instead concentrated on the sparks closest to him. A smile ghosted across his face as the newspark responded with a bloom of love. He knew that he would do whatever it took to keep them all alive.


	19. Hard Discussions

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm back! 
> 
> As always feel free to point out any mistakes I might have missed and feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!

Small hits against his helm brought Prime out of recharge and that was when he felt the urgent need for fuel being broadcast across the bond. Well, that explained what and who was hitting him. He brought his optics online to find the twins peering intently at him. He would never tire of seeing their faces watching him with such love.

“I am awake and I can feel your hunger. Let me find you some energon.”

The smiles and nods they gave him had him smiling back at them as he cupped them in his hands while he climbed off the berth. 

“Tor?” Twin Twist asked while his brother bobbed his head to his question.

“We found him -” Optimus began and after checking his chronometer realized it was well into the day cycle already, “very early this morning. The medics were working on him when I was told to get some recharge with you.”

He placed the pair down on Ratchet’s desk and reached into his subspace for a cube of energon and their special cubes. He poured them their servings and then drank down the rest. No need to give any medic a reason to scold him. It was quite a bit later than they normally had their first meal of the day and the twins showed it by drinking their rations faster than they normally did. 

“Bluuurp!” Topspin said as soon as he finished his cube.

“Yes, and that is why you should not consume your energon quite that fast, unpleasant noises can result from excessive air in our tanks. When you are in your adult frame then you can consume energon as fast as I can.”

That had Twin Twist attempting to recreate his brother’s noise, eliciting giggles from both of them while Optimus just shook his head. Even though Megatron was still in stasis just having him near was doing wonders for the pair. Of course, no gunfire and sirens was probably helping that as well. He swept the pair up and placed them on his shoulders letting them cling to his neck cables as he walked out of the room.

At first glance the hallway looked like another battlefield as mecha were strewn in clumps throughout it. He carefully stepped around those still recharging as he made his way to the operating suites. Breakdown was the first one standing he came across. The burly assistant was attending to Hound who was currently cradling one arm against his frame.

“Oh, good you’re up. Ratchet nearly panicked when Ambulon told him he didn’t know where you had gone to, but then he found you recharging in his office and the world was saved from his wrath. Right now he and Ambulon are working on Metalhawk while Knock Out is checking on Megatron. Hound here got jumped by sharkticons while bringing in Metalhawk, but luckily it wasn’t anything too serious so I’m the one patching him up.”

The twins leaned out from his shoulder concern being broadcast strongly across their bond while their optics watched their friend who gave them a smile.

“Don’t worry, bitlets, I’m okay. Breakdown nearly has me all fixed up already.”

“I am glad to hear that. How goes the search?” Optimus asked.

Hound shook his head. “Last I knew Ultra Magnus was maintaining the list. It’s been slow going carving our way through the debris of the warships since they fell amongst and took out some of our buildings. Prowl was alive, last I knew, and they were still working on getting him and the rest of the bridge crew free.”

Optimus laid a hand on the green scout’s shoulder. “Get some energon and take a few groons to recharge before you go out again. We cannot afford to have our searchers fall victim to sharkticons because they are low on energy.”

“I will, Prime.”

A soft snort from Breakdown had him looking over at the other mech.

“Yeah, you might want to tell that to our medics - they’ve been overriding anyone who has even dared to attempt to tell them something like that. We came back with the first wave of wounded and Ratchet was here already working on a few neutrals that his party had found. I’m sure he could tell you their designations if you are curious.”

“I see. I will discuss with them that their care and maintenance is just as important as anyone else’s. However, it is a relief to hear that survivors have been found after all the destruction I saw.”

A nearby room opened up and Ratchet and Ambulon walked out together still discussing Metalhawk. Their steps were slow as was their voices and Optimus knew that Breakdown was correct.

“How is Metalhawk?”

The pair glanced up at his voice and their serious expressions shifted into tired smiles when they saw the twins alert and curious riding on Prime’s shoulders.

“Good. We reattached his wing and as soon as that repair has finished setting he’ll need a whole slew of crumpled plates repaired but he’ll be able to fly once more,” Ratchet said.

“Excellent. Now I think you three need to set up some sort of rotation so that at least one of you will get a few groons of down time while the other two cover anyone that comes in damaged. As I have been reminded numerous times by my own medic, anybot that has not had sufficient defrag time will not be operating at their most optimal state.”

Ratchet barked out a laugh. “I’m glad to see that you can at least recite my words back to me even if you don’t always follow them. Although I was impressed to find you and the twins recharging in my office, perhaps there is hope for you yet.”

Optimus wisely said nothing about how he too had been told to do so and instead gave a grave nod to his old friend. “Please, we need all of you and I will be enforcing this with the searchers as well as they return. It gains us nothing to have any one of us injured by our lack of self care.”

Ratchet gave him a small smile. “Fine, Breakdown, go get your mate and hole up somewhere and get in at least two groons of recharge, Ambulon will be next and then me. Satisfied?”

“Yes and thank you. Would it be alright if the twins go in to see Megatron?”

“Of course, I was going to go check on him myself,” Ratchet said.

The flashy red medic stepped out of a room a few doors down from where they all stood and his optics widened at the gathering. “Please tell me that Prime is not thinking of going out again.”

“I am not.”

“No, he was just scolding us about our lack of downtime; so you and Breakdown will take the first off shift, then Ambulon and then me - as I have been reminded we need time to defrag as well. Prime is going to make sure the search crews do the same thing. We can’t afford to be tired while hunting for our friends and dealing with the remaining sharkticons. Now - has there been any change with Megatron?”

“No, and that strange substance we found is still in a good chunk of his systems. At least it seems to degrade on its own. What the - ahem, what could it be?” Knock Out asked as he took in the two sparklings listening intently.

Ratchet shook his helm. “No telling what he was exposed to in that explosion. But that’s good it’s degrading on its own since none of our usual flushants are working on it and we have no idea what the Quintessons have been working with recently.”

“Actually, I think it’s been helping him. See here.” Knock Out pulled out a pad and pulled up a screen and showed it to his colleagues. The medics huddled around him and watched as he went through the data. “I noticed that it was in his motor relay and when it left that’s when that system began to have hiccups. We were able to stabilize him but I was just looking through the readings and I think we can predict which ones we need to work on next if we can figure out how long it takes this stuff to degrade.”

“Do you mind if I take a look at that?” Ratchet asked. His hand was already outstretched but the other mech handed it over. “Thank you, I’ll study this while it’s quiet and see if I can come up with anything. Ambulon do you have a spare pad? I’ll copy the data over to you so you can see if you can figure it out as well.”

Breakdown didn’t wait around and began steering his conjunx out of the area. Prime waited for the other two to finish what they were doing before he shifted his weight. Ratchet nodded and began walking down to the room the other medic had just vacated.

“Come on, I’ll take you to Megatron and we can discuss his treatment there.”

“Tor?” Twin Twist asked.

“Yes, we are going to see him now,” Prime said.

They stepped into the room and the huge frame somehow looked smaller now with all the lines and connectors attached to him. A flash of panic came across the bond and Prime lifted the pair off of his shoulders bringing them closer to the helm of their creator.

“These things are to help him get better faster. They look scary but they are a good thing, right, Ratchet?”

“Just so. Why don’t you two sit there and talk to him; sometimes even in stasis bots can hear things around them and the sound of your voices might help him to wake up faster. Optimus and I will be right over here so we can discuss his treatment while you watch over him.”

Optimus placed them down on the indicated spot and the sparklings latched onto the larger helm and began jabbering in a combination of their few words and various beeps. Ratchet snatched up Prime’s hand and towed him over to a corner.

“I know exactly - okay, not exactly because the slagger wouldn’t tell me what was in that stuff he used but that is Jazz’s suicide boost! I should have recognized its signature pattern before -” Ratchet said in a low voice.

“You were stressed and overworked. Although it is good to know you realize what it is, but what is his prognosis?”

“Honestly, I’m surprised he survived it at all - the damage was extensive and there was no dark energon to sustain him like after the spacebridge explosion. So far no other survivors from that ship have been found from any species. It might have been that he was far enough away from the engines or maybe that boost or both, but I think he has a chance now that we can watch him. If we can stabilize the systems as that stuff wears off he should make it; but the earliest I think he has even a chance of waking up is at least a week, and it is likely to be longer than that though.”

“I see.” 

“Oh, Primus - I’m sorry, I know the newspark will need a merge before then but there is no way he will be in any shape to do that before the little one will need its next merge. I’d offer my spark if I thought it would help -”

Optimus put his hands on Ratchet’s shoulders. “That is a relief to hear as I was hoping you would agree to try. I do not know if it will work, but any chance is worth it, is it not?”

The medic’s mouth hung open. “Really? You would want me to be its co-creator? What about Megatron?”

Prime’s smile was sad. “He is the one who made me promise to try and find someone if something should happen to him. And I find the notion of sharing sparks with anyone but you unpleasant. If it does not work with you, I will not try with anyone else.”

Ratchet’s optics widened. “You would do that even though all the data suggests that it would never make it to its final upgrade if it doesn’t have a co-creator?”

Optimus shook his helm and glanced over at the twins for a moment. “Primus has told me that he will make sure the newspark will survive regardless - if it does not have a co-creator then the Matrix will bond with it and it will be destined to be the next Prime. That is why Megatron made me promise to try and find a replacement. We both want any of our creations to have the chance to be whatever it is that their spark desires.”

One hand rubbed idly on his chevron for a moment before he looked up at Prime again. “That is - how would this work?”

“I would welcome you to our strange little family unit. You would be listed as the co-creator and should - no, when Megatron wakes up - I would not ask you to give that up. The joy and love from a newspark is not something you can walk away from and Megatron understands that. We will adapt and perhaps get a bigger berth.”

A light blossomed in the medic’s optics and Optimus smiled at it. A nearby chair was snagged with one hand and he planted himself in it.

“What? Here? Now?” Ratchet asked as his optics flitted over to where the twins were still jabbering at Megatron with their whole focus on their creator.

“Yes, I would see if this works sooner rather than later. And I find the prospect of sharing sparks with you a joy I do not want to wait for. Not after nearly losing so very much of what I hold dear.”

That was all Ratchet needed to hear and quickly straddled Prime’s lap. Optimus folded his chestplates back and the light from his spark just barely spilled out over the glowing shape of the Matrix. The medic’s plates split apart nearly as fast as Prime’s did and his spark brightened the room with a brilliant blue.

“Beautiful, just as I knew it would be,” Prime said softly.

Their sparks surged forward toward each other and at first it appeared as if the newspark was going to remain hidden but as the two adult sparks came together the joy and love that bloomed between them was enough to draw it into the corona of Ratchet’s spark. Feeling the newspark connect to him had Ratchet tipping his head back and laughing with a delight that had Optimus laughing as well. He could feel it as well; the newspark had bonded with Ratchet and seemed to be thrilled to have another spark to share its love with.

Ratchet leaned forward and captured Prime’s lips with his own. “Now I understand. Before I could never wrap my processor around how a newspark could change Megatron so much, but now I understand. It’s like having a little bit of joy attached to your spark. Oh, let me take a scan of it and make sure that this didn’t harm it. I would die if something happened to it because of me.”

Before Optimus could complain about his suddenly empty lap, there was his dearest companion busy scanning his spark and the newspark who leaned towards its new co-creator. The scanner beeped and Ratchet’s smile widened.

“Perfect. She’s developing just perfectly. Yes, it’s a she - the newspark is resonating well within the upper end of the femme range now.”

Optimus let his plates shut once more and he beamed at Ratchet. “A femme. Oh, I am glad. I know Primus mentioned that it was a femme, but I prefer confirmation from you. I was having such a hard time coming up with a mech name I liked; but I know just what to call her, Elita.”

The medic’s smile widened when he noted the inflection of the name was based off of the glyph for elation and not elite. It suited the newspark, but maybe he was biased already. However, there was something else he needed to address.

“I felt something else during that merge besides Elita - why didn’t you ever tell me how you felt?”

Optimus’ head drooped down and he stared at his hands folded in his lap. “How could I offer you anything when at first I was told that my consort was supposed to be picked by the Senate and it was only recently that I discovered the truth - that they took the choice away from the Prime because they feared our power over the people. And then it was not too long ago that I discovered that I am a construct of Primus -”

Ratchet glared at him and slapped a palm over his mouth. “None of that. You are one of the best mechs I’ve ever known both as Orion and as Optimus. Yes, Primus might have created the programming that formed your core personality, but you are the Prime that we needed and I’m sorry if that makes me a bad mech but I think Orion would have understood.”

“Thank you. And then the twins happened and I knew that the next vorn they would be my priority and I thought it was selfish of me to ask you to wait.”

A heavy ex-vent and then a warm frame slipped back onto Prime’s lap.

“You are a self-sacrificing idiot, but I love you anyway. I stayed at your side through millions of years of our war; you think I couldn’t wait a vorn for the sparklings to mature? After seeing so much loss out there -”

“Yes, that is why I did not want to wait. We came so close to losing everything.”

Ratchet leaned in and rested his forehead against Prime’s. “I know. We found those that had been taken. None of them survived. They had been restrained and when the Quintessons lost control of their slaves - Primus, I hope their sparks returned to the Well quickly, but we found some sharkticons feeding on them. I never want to see anything like that ever again. We nearly lost all hope then but then we found a few survivors from our own little flotilla of ships.”

Optimus’ optics darkened. “We must make sure that we lose no one else to them. I will make sure the searchers take time off and work in shifts as well.”

“That’s good. Now as much as I would like to stay here and cuddle with you and the twins; I need to go over this data and check on Metalhawk.”

Prime’s arms slipped around Ratchet when he tried to slip off and held him close. “Megatron and I are fond of each other but we both know he loves Orion still and I am not him and he knows that I love you as well. All those spark merges has allowed us to see into the other’s spark. Before we leave though, I have one more confession to make - I had asked Megatron to be my conjunx not that long ago, firstly because I wanted a family and secondly because I hoped it would show to everyone that we are changed mecha. Now I know that perhaps I was too hasty as you are the one my spark wants for my conjunx and my Lord High Protector. I am sure I can explain the situation to Megatron -”

“What?” Ratchet lowered his voice until it was a barely a hiss, “You did what? Why? And what in the name of Primus is a High Lord Protector?”

“The title given to the consort of the Prime long ago before the Senate decided to make our consort a political position.”

Ratchet nodded and pointed over at the grey mech. “Well, conjunx is fine but honestly, High Lord Protector sounds more like his kind of thing than mine. You’re Prime and the Senate is gone now so separate them, after all we are going to be living together for the foreseeable future, that way it will look more like we are a unit if we each have a role to play.”

Optimus ex-vented in relief. “That is an excellent idea. I know that it will bound to be difficult at times, but I would have us be a family no matter how strange it might be.”

“We’ll make it work somehow. I don’t want to give this up either. Now come on, I think the twins should work their magic on more of our people.”

With a gleam in his optics, Prime nodded. “Excellent idea and I think I know where to start.”

A single optic ridge raised as Ratchet watched Optimus. “Oh, really?”

“Yes, Metalhawk.”

Ratchet grinned. “Oh, that is an excellent plan! I was going to go see about making sure he was cleaned up before banging out any dents, but I’ll leave the cleaning to you and study this datapad and see if I can figure out the degradation rate while you work.” Reluctantly, he climbed off Prime. “I will ask that you come remind me when it is my turn for downtime. I would feel your spark and Elita’s again before I recharge.”

“Gladly.”

Optimus stood up and went over to where the twins still sat by their creator’s head just holding onto it while they watched him and Ratchet. He brushed the tops of their helms with his hand and smiled at them.

“With Megatron injured, Ratchet agreed to be the newspark’s co-creator and she has bonded with him as well. He is not replacing Megatron; he is an addition to our family much like my newspark is. And yes, I said you will be having a younger sister. Just as you needed energy from my spark to grow so does this newspark, but Megatron needs time to get better so this is what was necessary to make sure she should develop as she should. Let us go check on the others but we will come back and check on Megatron later, okay?”

That seemed to satisfy the pair and they smiled and held up their hands in a gesture well known to those around them. They were ready to be picked up. He scooped them up and held them close to his spark.

“Your creator is strong and he loves you both more than anything just as I do, and that I have to believe is what will get him through this; so be strong for him, my little ones.”

Ratchet smiled at them. “Optimus is right. Megatron will come through this if only to return to you both. We’ll come back in a little while and see how he is doing.”

“Beep!”

The hallway hadn’t cleared out while they had been with Megatron and Optimus gazed over at the newest addition to his family, an addition that brought him a great deal of joy. “Why is everyone recharging out here? There are plenty of rooms available for them to use.”

“All the couples retired to rooms along with our new allies, but the rest of them prefer to be near someone else - hence the piles of mecha. Honestly, I can’t blame them - I wouldn’t want to recharge alone right now either.”

They wove their way through the piles speaking as quietly as they could while they walked.

“Ah, yes, I understand now. What do we need to do for Metalhawk?”

“Just take some solvent and just wipe off any grit or other foreign material especially around his joints. He should wake up soon so better have your speech ready. I’ll sit in there and work on the treatment for Megatron while you do that.”

“Of course.”

The golden flyer lay peacefully on the medical table and Prime placed the twins down by his pedes.

“Wait here while I go get some materials.”

He returned with two bowls, one smaller and shallower for them to use and a larger one for himself along with several cloths. He placed the smaller bowl by Metalhawk’s helm before he ripped one of the cloths into several smaller pieces for the twins to use and laid the small pile next to their bowl.

“I am going to move you up here to his head so you can start there and I will work on his arms and legs.”

The pair grabbed their much smaller cloths and shoved them into their bowl and it was all Optimus could do not to laugh as they happily slapped the wet little scraps against the recharging mech’s helm. Evidently the novelty of being the one doing the cleaning appealed to the pair. They scrubbed for all they were worth and he chanced a look over at Ratchet and saw the same amusement dancing in his optics. With more care than his creations, he too began to wipe down the limbs of the flyer. He had barely finished one arm when a voice pulled him from his work.

“By the AllSpark, I must be in the Well if Prime is cleaning me.”

“I do have help,” Optimus said as he gestured to the pair who waved their wet rags merrily at the mech.

Even Metalhawk had to smile at the sight as he turned his helm to see his tiny cleaners. “So I see. Thank you for your diligent care. I’m not sure what I did to deserve such treatment.”

“We needed something to keep us busy since I was ordered not to help with any more searches after we brought Megatron back, but I will admit that I wanted a chance to talk to you before the medics released you.”

A wry grin crossed Metalhawk’s face. “Ah, and what is it you wish to tell me in return for this special care?”

“I would ask that you put aside our differences because more than ever we need to work together. We won the day thanks to the efforts of all of our people, but have you thought about what will happen next?”

“Honestly, I wasn’t expecting to survive that crash, but what is it you think could possibly happen next to us?”

A soft ex-vent left Prime but he never stopped his ministrations. “We do not know how long it will take the Quintessons to realize that they are missing two warships and begin to look for them.”

A gasp from Ratchet had him turning to give him a sad smile.

Metalhawk’s pained sound drew his gaze back to his frequently outspoken opponent.

“I hadn’t thought of that, but you are right. And we have no warship now thanks to me.” His voice was bitter and full of regret.

Optimus laid a warm servo on his shoulder. “There was no other choice, but as you can see we still must work together if we are going to survive. What can I do to make you see that I am not your enemy and that both of us want the same thing - peace for all of us.” 

Metalhawk’s optics narrowed as he studied Prime. “How is it you could trust the one mech that seemed driven to destroy you for so long? Your destruction seemed to be the one thing he wanted most in the universe. And you seemed to be just as stubbornly trying to keep him alive. That is why I didn’t trust you or him. That leap just defied all logic.”

Prime nodded and gazed over at the twins who still happily worked. At least Metalhawk hadn’t named names. “If I had killed him I ran the risk of making him a martyr - perhaps his army would have broken apart or perhaps they would have rallied stronger. I needed to turn them from their path, but because he saw me as a symbol of the old government and the thing that destroyed his lover, Orion Pax - that task proved difficult. Now you know what were the things that drove him and it did not help that he was slowly being controlled by Unicron when he began using dark energon.”

A soft gasp brought Prime’s optics back down to Metalhawk. “I had heard rumors, but it seemed too far fetched to be true.”

Optimus studied the spot he had been washing for a moment. “I am not sure what exactly you heard, but although I have Orion Pax’s spark and frame - I am not him. Primus had grown disillusioned with the last few Primes and decided he needed to ensure that the next Prime would listen to him. When Megatron approached me to stop Unicron, that is when we discovered the truth - that I am a construct of the Matrix and the personality core that was Orion was locked away in the Matrix. So when I used the power of the Matrix to lock Unicron away that in turn freed Orion. Megatron began to change from that day forward and when he learned of the twins existence - well, he bent all of his considerable will towards their well being. Primus even ordered me to protect the twins and I think he knew that they would be able to do what I could not - turn Megatron from his current path and he was right. I cannot state just how important those two are to him and now that he is freed from Unicron’s control he is a mech that can be reasoned with. Does that answer your question?”

There was silence for a few moments and Optimus continued working while he waited for a response. The sound of pedes turned his attention to Ratchet who joined him beside the flyer. The medic wrapped an arm around his waist and he leaned into the touch.

“I too, had a hard time believing that Megatron could change but now - now I think I understand better. And I have seen the changes with my own optics, what Optimus says is true.”

Metalhawk’s optics fell to the sparklings and then turned back to Prime and his medic. “You are right - we must work together if we are to have any chance at all. Where should we start?”

Prime’s smile was wide. “Thank you. I propose that we begin by seeing if there are any ships that we can salvage and also see what state the spacebridge is in. From there we can decide accordingly which would be the best way so that we can prepare to escape when they arrive. We lack the firepower to make a stand without our warship, the gestalt, and with so many of us still missing I have no idea of how many could even take the field. Although Megatron is alive, it is likely to be an orn at least before he awakens.”

“And even then he will not be in any condition to do much of anything,” Ratchet added.

The flyer’s optics dimmed for a moment. “I haven’t seen or heard from Zetca. Do either of you know anything about his whereabouts?”

Ratchet shuffled a little closer. “I’m sorry to say that he was killed with Ironhide and some others trying to rescue Shockwave and his team at the spacebridge. We know where their frames are and will recover them all as soon as we’ve recovered the rest of the missing that are alive.”

“I see,” Metalhawk said. His voice was soft and resonated with pain. “What about Megatron and Ricochet, were they successful at least?”

“Yes, they brought down the other warship before it could do any more damage or more importantly - flee. Megatron is in stasis, but Ricochet was still missing the last I knew,” Optimus said.

Metalhawk nodded and then his optics widened. “Oh, Primus, the newspark - I’m sorry.”

Optimus smiled and shook his head. “It is okay. The little one has bonded with Ratchet and he will be her co-creator now. She is fine, but thank you for the concern as I was worried about her survival as well. Even with Ratchet’s help I will need more time with the twins while Megatron recovers so although no election was held I would ask you to join me and be a part of Cybertron’s Council.”

“Who else are you thinking of asking to join us?”

“From what I understand Ultra Magnus has been keeping a record of who has been found, but I have yet to see him to get a full accounting. Until I know more, it will be just us two for right now. We can add more as we discover who else is functioning and agree upon their addition. Does that sound acceptable to you?” 

Metalhawk pushed up on one arm and held his other out to Optimus who gladly clasped it in the age old way to seal a deal. “Yes, now help me up so we can begin to see what we have left to work with.”

Before he could say anything, Ratchet was at his side and glaring at Metalhawk. “None of that yet. I still need to bang out the worst of your dents so that your plates don’t get twisted the first time you transform and then make sure all your systems are within normal parameters. So just settle back and let me work.” He picked up the twins and handed them to Prime, “Thank you, Optimus, Topspin, and Twin Twist for your help. I think I’ve found a new job for all three of you.”

Knowing he had been dismissed Prime exited the room. He grinned down at the pair in his arms. “That was excellent work.”

The sparklings returned his grin and the newspark bounced merrily around his spark at the surge of hope that coursed through him. With Metalhawk working with him, perhaps they had a chance of escaping with their freedom still.


	20. A Journey

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> As always let me know if I missed any mistakes and let me know what you think of them. 
> 
> Enjoy!

At first glance the meeting looked almost normal; at least until how many carried fresh weld marks and other signs of recent combat on their frames. More telling was who wasn’t present.

Starscream, Ultra Magnus, Metalhawk, Onslaught, and Prime sat behind a large table they had set up in the biggest area they could find - an empty warehouse. Ratchet had taken a position directly behind Optimus where he held the twins, because seeing their co-creator directly in front of them was the only way they would allow themselves to be separate from him. The area had been cleared of anything else to allow as many of their people to come to this as possible and even a few of the aliens had joined them. 

As Optimus gazed out and over the crowd the thing that caught his optic was how they were missing the sea of vehicons that were usually present at any gathering. Only a few were present, and he knew that more were still in the medical wing while none of their flying brethren, the eradicons, had survived the aerial combat with the Quintessons. 

Whereas peace hadn’t been able to bring a unity among them, the attack by the Quintessons had at least managed to bring them together as witnessed by the lack of clumping among the survivors as they stood together. They still might not always like each other but survival trumped that.

Prime stood up to address the crowd. “We asked you all here today to discuss with you what our next step should be. We won the battle but we must face the fact that eventually the Quintessons will come here looking for their missing warships. They could even already be on their way here at their failure to check in. We just do not know.”

“How are we going to flee? We hardly have any spaceships that are functional!” a panicked voice called out from the back of the gathering.

As the murmured voices rose in volume, Optimus raised his hand. “Peace. That is what we have been working on. We know that the minor damage to the spacebridge will be repaired shortly and that is the fastest way we can evacuate everyone -”

“We are giving up on our home? This is our world!” another voice called out.

Metalhawk pushed to his feet. “We barely held against two warships with our one warship - which I’ve been assured will need several deca-cycles to have even a chance at getting it back in the air. That is time we are not even sure we have. Not to mention just how few of us came out of the last battle unscathed. We do not willingly give up our home, but we have to face the brutal fact that we can’t hold it against the Quintessons should they show up with any real force. To that end, we’ve decided to ask the humans to allow us to move our colony to the planet Mars in their system. It is far enough away that we should be able to recover and not have to worry about another attack any time soon.”

“Why do we have to ask? Do they live there already?”

“No,” Prime said, “but it is their home system and I would not willingly alienate our ally in that system. We still need to ask them to allow our new friends, The Forgotten, to make a home for themselves on Earth with them. That is why we concentrated work on our largest transport ships so we can move materials and begin to stockpile energon on Mars for our use while we set up solar collectors and housing units.”

At the mention of their name one of the former slaves made her way through the crowd to the table and bowed her head.

“We thank you, Optimus Prime for remembering your promise to us. I was chosen to speak for my people when you meet with these humans of yours since I have learned much of their language.”

Prime gestured towards the end of the table. “Very good. Please, join us then as we will be contacting them shortly after this meeting. Have you chosen a name for yourself?”

Her mouth formed a smile, a gesture she now understood how the Cybertronians could make. “I have, I chose the word - Hope to represent me.”

She bowed once more before stepping over to Prime’s side to wait.

Optimus returned her smile with one of his own before turning his gaze out to the rest of the gathering. “An excellent choice. Although Soundwave is not here, he did tell me before the meeting that the communication tower will be operational within a solar cycle. Now for updates from the rest of the council - Starscream, would you please give us an update on the status on the sharkticons in the area?”

The flyer stood at the sound of his name and looked out upon the crowd daring anyone to say something. “Myself, Vortex, and Laserbeak have been diligently hunting for sharkticons and we are certain that we’ve eradicated any in the colony, however, there is no guarantee that some didn’t escape out into the countryside so please no traveling alone and remember to bring your weapon with you. Just double check who it is you are aiming at before pulling the trigger; any accidental shootings will be not be tolerated and will be punished to the full extent of the law.”

Starscream settled back into his chair and Ultra Magnus stood next.

“The only mech still unaccounted for was Ricochet. We are fairly certain now that he was the one that blew up the engines of the Quintesson ship since Megatron was found on what was left of the bridge. After extensive searching, very little of that area of the ship has been recovered as anything but lumps of melted metal. Because of that, his designation has joined Ironhide, Dreadwing, Zetca, Shockwave and numerous others. All will be missed.”

Onslaught pushed to his feet. “We’ve begun putting building supplies aside in an empty warehouse closest to the spacebridge. As soon as the spacebridge is operational and we receive permission from the humans we will begin moving building materials and the supplies to Mars. Thanks to Soundwave and Starscream’s reports on that planet we already have several sites picked out to begin setting up our structures and we believe that in less than a deca-cycle we can have at least one habitation building ready for our use. It will be cramped but doable.”

Prime smiled and nodded. “Thank you all, for all of your hard work. And I would also like to thank Metalhawk for agreeing to be the Speaker for our people since I cannot travel to Earth at this time while Megatron is still in stasis.” 

Metalhawk dipped his helm and then turned his optics out to the crowd. “Although Prime and I frequently didn’t see optic to optic on things, we both realize that only by working together do we have a chance at saving all of us. Because I have no experience with the humans, Starscream has agreed to go with me along with Ultra Magnus as he has already memorized all the various laws from all the different countries of Earth. It is our hope that we will be able to convince the humans that having us on Mars will not be a negative thing - far enough away not to be involved with their day to day life but close enough to help should they need it. While we are doing that, please remember that only by continuing to work together here will we be able to remain as we are - free Cybertronians. That’s all for now so thank you for your time.”

Optimus turned to gather the little ones back in his arms but he didn’t make it very far before Ratchet had already placed them there with a grin.

“I could tell all of you were getting a little anxious at the end there.”

Optimus smiled and held the pair close to his spark. “You were both very good and I am proud of you both. I know how hard it is to not be with me for even a little while, so thank you for letting Ratchet watch you.”

A familiar pulse of warmth from the Matrix was the only warning he got before he found himself standing in the brightness of that nothingness. He could still feel the twins and the newspark close by so he didn’t panic.

_“You’ve done well, my Prime. I have an urgent task for you - and I would have you ask Metalhawk to help you as you retrieve the AllSpark. It is in grave danger of opening and releasing its energy into space. And only by being whole once more can I aid my people in their time of need. You must retrieve it before all is lost.”_

An image seared into his processor and he knew where the artifact could be found. Before he could ask anything he found himself returned to his frame and he realized that only a few seconds had passed, just enough for the medic to grow concerned.

“I am alright, Ratchet,” he blurted out before turning to scan the crowd still milling about and found his target. “Metalhawk!” 

The flyer spun around at the urgent call of his name.

“Yes?”

Carrying the twins, Prime strode through the mecha and more than one set of optics followed his path.

“I need your assistance once more, Metalhawk.”

Optics darted between Prime and his medic but Ratchet could only shrug a shoulder at the unasked question. “What happened?” 

“Primus has revealed the location of the AllSpark along with the fact that it is in danger of being lost permanently and I will need your help to retrieve it.”

At those words, the mecha still in the room closed in around the pair.

“Of course. What do you need me to do?”

“I will need you to fly us to a nearby asteroid field and I’ll need you to retrieve it since I cannot fly.”

Ratchet put a hand on Optimus’ shoulder. “What about the twins?”

“Can Megatron be moved?”

Ratchet in-vented sharply. “There aren’t any functional ships big enough for everyone that would need to go in order to bring him along and the twins still need you!”

His spark fell at those words, but he knew what he had to do. “I will leave them in your care, please keep them near Megatron. I have to do this, Primus needs us to save the AllSpark in order to aid us and I have to trust that Primus would not allow harm to come to them as he has protected them both from the start.”

Gasps surrounded them and even Metalhawk looked taken aback. “Perhaps you can just tell me where to go.”

Prime shook his helm. “I wish that were the case. It floats in a sea of similar looking rocks and I will need the Matrix to pick it out for us.”

Optimus tried to ignore the pain in Ratchet’s optics as he handed the twins back to him. The sparklings reached out for him and he only allowed a gentle touch on their helm at their unspoken plea. “Please stay with Ratchet and watch over Megatron for me. I will be back as quick as I can.”

Knowing that dragging it out would only upset the twins more, Prime spun on his heel and strode out of the area. Metalhawk had to jog to catch up but once they were outside, Prime’s steps slowed.

“If I remember correctly we have several smaller unarmed vessels that are still operational. We can take one of those.”

“There are. How urgent is it in danger? Could we have taken a few moments for you to spend with the pair -”

“I left quickly as much for myself as them. I am not sure I would have been able to walk away if I did not leave when I did. I am not sure how long we have but Primus instilled in me that this is a urgent mission.”

The flyer’s head shook in disbelief. “And should the twins come to harm, what will you tell Primus then?”

He concentrated on his bond with the sparklings and poured his love to them, letting them feel that he wasn’t happy about this arrangement either. They answered with their unconditional love and he hoped that he was right - that Primus would watch over the pair.

“I will do what I must.”

Metalhawk shook his head at Prime before he transformed and zoomed off to the landing field where the ship they needed was. Anything that had a gun had been used in the fight and most of those were awaiting repairs still. Optimus could do nothing else but follow and shifted to vehicle mode and accelerated after the flyer. His path was much longer and he arrived at the field to find one of the ship’s already prepped and ready to go. He switched back to his root mode and climbed into the vessel. Metalhawk sat behind the controls and he had barely made it into his seat before the craft began to climb into the sky.

“Where are we going?”

“The asteroid belt on the fringe of our system,” Prime said as he typed in coordinates into the ship.

“It’s been that close all along? Why didn’t you retrieve it earlier?”

“That is not where I released it. If I had known it was there we would have. Somehow it made its way back into this system, I can only assume that Primus is calling it back; however he needs us to bring it in faster before it breaks completely and releasing its energy into space.”

The ship’s engines grew louder and louder as it fought to break free of Cybertron’s gravity. The little craft shook as it climbed but since his pilot didn’t seem worried, Prime could only sit and wait. In a few moments, it shot out into space and picked up more speed as it headed towards the section that Optimus had programmed in. The feel of the bond with the twins grew fainter but thankfully it did not shatter and he could relax at least a little.

Ten long minutes later and they hovered on the edge of debris from their system. Optimus scanned the area looking for something to look familiar when the Matrix pulsed once more when his optics spotted one particular hunk of rock that had a faint glow where there should be none.

“There! Can you see the light coming from that one? That is it! Hurry, I do not know how long it will last.”

“Oh, no. I’ll be right back.”

Metalhawk opened the hatch and stepped outside, floating for a moment before transforming and speeding towards the field of asteroids. He shifted back and grabbed hold of the chunk of debris and even from here he could see flashes of light coming from it. The Matrix pulsed once more and he knew that Metalhawk had grabbed the right one. Using his heel thrusters, the bright gold mech maneuvered his way back to the craft and climbed aboard. He dropped the large rock in Prime’s servos. As soon as it rested in Optimus’ hands, bits of rock began to fall off of it until a glowing cylinder sat in his hands. Shadows of light danced throughout the cabin as the sparks contained within the container pulsed with life. And then he spotted the long gash that marred the surface and he could see tendrils of energy that were escaping it as the force of the AllSpark tried to expand which was compounding the issue. Optimus held his hands over it in a vain effort to stem the flow.

“Hurry. We do not have much time before the container can no longer hold it.”

However, Metalhawk had already turned the little ship around and had it pointed back at Cybertron. Ominous creaks from the little container seemed to fill the cabin and Optimus winced at each sound. 

One moment he was staring in horror as the gash widened before his optics and then he stood in the bright nothingness once more.

_“You have done well, my Prime, but the container will not last until you make it to the Well.”_

“Is there nothing I can do to save it?”

_“There is only one thing. I will ask you to use the Matrix to hold it. It is the only thing capable of doing so that is within your grasp. However, know this, if you do this than you will need to release the power of the Matrix once more in order to free the AllSpark from it. Just as before, Optimus Prime will be no more and you will be my last Prime and the Matrix will be no more after Orion is returned to that frame.”_

“Will the newspark be harmed?”

A warmth infused him and he basked in the glow.

_“No, she will be safe as the Matrix power will flow outward and she will remain hidden behind your spark. Your spark, as always, will protect her.”_

“What will happen to me?”

_“All that you are will return and be one with me.”_

He bowed his helm. “I will grieve to leave those that I love behind but I know that I must do this.”

He found himself once more in his frame and without any hesitation he opened his chest and brought the container up to the Matrix. It opened seemingly of its own accord, but instead of energy pouring out of it, it drew the contents of the AllSpark into itself.

“Whoa! I didn’t know it could that!”

“Neither did I, until Primus told me that it could. It was the only way to get it safely back to Cybertron before it was lost.”

Once the AllSpark was safely contained, Optimus turned his thoughts inward and began putting files and memories together for when he was gone. Hopefully, this information would help ease Orion’s confusion when he returned to his frame. By the time they began their approach to Cybertron, he had amassed a large collection of image captures and sound bites for the other mech. He opened his subspace and pulled out several datapads. Finding one whose contents were not important, he began downloading things specifically for Orion and then filled a second one with those things he wanted Ratchet to know. Hopefully, it would help ease some of the pain with what was about to happen; both devices were then returned to his subspace to await their arrival.

Finished doing what he could, he tried to contact the colony. At first all he got was static, but finally the ship was close enough that Ratchet’s voice rang out over the channel.

:Don’t ever do that again, Optimus! The twins have been weeping all over the place and I think the majority of mecha want to say a few choice words to you, of course they have to get in line behind me!:

:I am sorry. We just barely made it to the AllSpark. Please tell everyone that can travel to head to the Well. I will meet you there.:

:It’s done. I’m glad you could save it.:

:As am I, we will need new mecha when the Quintessons return. I will see you in a little bit,: Optimus said and he thought he had moderated his voice but something must have sounded off because Ratchet didn’t disconnect.

:Optimus? Is everything okay?:

:I will explain when I see you.:

:No! Whatever idiotic stupid thing you’ve done now, just undo it!:

:Nothing is ever that simple, Ratchet.: And then he shut the channel off.

Re-entry was just as bumpy as leaving had been and Optimus clutched the arms of his chair as the ship trembled and shook all the way down. Soon he could see the ground and already there were a stream of vehicles heading for the Well while the air only contained three flyers - Starscream, Vortex, and Blast Off. Soundwave was around working on the tower most likely but that was still a sobering fact. Their air capabilities were nearly gone now. Any halfway outfitted group of raiders would be able to bombard them from the air unless they could get some ships functional and soon.

Metalhawk guided the ship towards an open space near the opening to the Well, but before the ship had even dropped down; Optimus was on the move. He flung the hatch open and scanned the arriving vehicles until he spotted the familiar red and white ambulance barreling through the crowd with his siren going. And there now he could feel the twins and their joy at being near him had him smiling. Ratchet came to a stop and he could see the twins waving excitedly at him from his interior. The door flung open and he gathered the pair into his arms.

“Thank you so much for taking care of Ratchet and Megatron for me. You were both very brave and I am proud of you both.”

“Key!”

With one arm he held the pair close to his spark and when the other mech finished transforming he used his other arm to pull Ratchet in as well. He turned to look at Metalhawk while he guided his family off a short distance from the crowd.

“Give us a moment.”

“Of course.”

Optics narrowed, Ratchet pushed a finger against Prime’s chassis.

“What is going on?”

His arm fell away and he reached in and pulled out the two datapads.

“The top one is for you and the bottom one is for Orion. I am sorry for doing this to you. When we found the AllSpark, the container it was in was breaking apart already and the only way to prevent the AllSpark from escaping was to put it in the Matrix. Just as before, when I release it, it will drain the Matrix and I will be gone. Orion, the twins, and Elita will need you more than ever to help in the transition. I wish there had been another way, but this was the only way to save our people.”

Optics wide in disbelief, Ratchet shook his head. “No, you can’t do this! Not when I was just starting to believe that we might have a future together. Why is it always you that has to save the world?”

“If there had been any other way I would have done it, but I cannot condemn our people to ease my own pain. That is not the mech you love.”

Ratchet shuttered his optics and his gaze fell for a moment. “No - you’re right, but it doesn’t make it any easier. I don’t suppose you have another key to Vector Sigma, do you?”

Optimus shook his helm. He brought the twins up to his face and found himself smiling at them. “I have one more thing to do and then I will be back.”

“Key?” Twin Twist asked as his optics darted to Optimus and then out to the gathering of mecha.

Topspin took matters into his own servos and activated his magnets to anchor himself to his creator’s hand and hung on for all that he was worth. Ratchet carefully plucked the sparkling off of Optimus along with his brother, and both uttered sad meeps upon their removal.

“Go. Save us all.”

“I love you.”

A harsh in-vent was all Ratchet could muster as he watched Prime walk towards the Well.

“Vortex, can you lower me down into the Well?”

The helo studied Prime for a moment before shaking his helm. “Not alone - you’ll need at least two cables to support your weight, well, assuming you want to make it down alive.”

Starscream stepped forward. “I’ll do it. You can hook a cable to me - I’m smaller than Blast Off and can hover better than him and I have more power than Metalhawk.”

“Thank you, Starscream. I will need a ride out when I am finished as well, although I will not be the same mech and may need some guidance when I come back.”

Ratchet glared at the gathering mecha when several looked like they wanted to question Prime. “I’ll explain it to everyone while you go and restore the AllSpark.”

A smile ghosted across his lips. “Thank you, Ratchet.”

The two former Decepticons transformed and lowered cables, Optimus tied loops in the ends allowing him to set his pedes in them. The pair lifted him and maneuvered him over the entrance to the Well and began to spool out the cable lowering him down into the depths. He began to wonder if they pair had long enough cables but eventually he reached the bottom.

“Stop!” he yelled up.

His descent halted and he turned on his headlights before stepping out of his makeshift harness. A small corridor was the only exit from the hole he was in and headed down it. Veins of crystals glimmered from the walls and sparkled from his light. Ahead he spotted something reminiscent of Unicron’s spark from Earth, however instead of pulsing with life, this one lay dormant. He opened his chest and filled the bond with his love before the energy from the Matrix poured out and into what had to be Primus’ spark. Systems shut down as he was forced into a reboot cycle.

~+~+~

A groan left him as his system rebooted. Optics flickered on to the sight of sparks of all shapes and sizes that danced around him. Orion could only laugh as he watched them flit about before darting back towards what had to be the AllSpark. He climbed to his pedes and as he examined the little area he found himself in he noticed a small tunnel leading out. He followed it out into a wider room and gazed up to see faces all around the rim watching in delight as sparks flew out of the Well and then back down into it.

“Hello! Can anyone help me out of here?”

Ratchet raced to the edge and peered over the edge with his headlights on. He could just barely make out a familiar red and blue frame.

“Orion! Use those cables and we’ll pull you up.”

“Okay, I see them. I am ready to come up now.”

The cables began pulling him up and he just begun to crest the edge of the Well when helpful hands helped pull him to safety. Orion stepped out of the cables and spun slowly around looking for any familiar face. He grinned when he spotted the recognizable red and white frame of Ratchet.

“Ratchet!”

Instead of looking happy to see him, his friend had a sad cast about him. His optics widened when he took in the pair of sparklings currently wiggling in delight as they reached towards him.

“Sparklings! Primus, oh my, when did you have them? They are so adorable!”

“They aren’t mine, Orion. This is Topspin and Twin Twist. They are Megatron’s and well, you could say your creations.”

Optics wide, Orion carefully took the pair from his friend. “Oh my I appear to have missed a lot recently. Where is Megatron anyway?”

A soft ex-vent left the medic as he held out one datapad toward Orion while a second tablet was held close to his spark. “He’s in stasis back in our colony. Optimus asked me to give you this to help you adjust to your sudden arrival back in your frame.”

Murmurs from the rest of the crowd rose in volume but Orion found himself staring in wonder at the gift of the sparklings. He concentrated and found the bond with them and at his touch the pair responded with a joy that had him laughing. The pad was quickly stuffed into his subspace as he concentrated on the sparklings in his hand. A soft touch on his arm brought his gaze over to his friend who gently led him away from those who were gathered around the Well.

“There’s one more thing. You have a newspark around your spark as well and Optimus named her Elita. We don’t think Megatron will be recovered enough to merge with you before she needs another contribution.”

“Another! But, how?” Orion shook his helm before Ratchet could reply. “I mean I know how, but with who did Optimus share sparks with?”

“Megatron. Optimus and he have become good friends and from what Optimus told me it was more for pleasure than anything else - I got the impression they shared sparks to make sure their was nothing hidden between them and that was when the newspark was created. I shared sparks with Optimus just a little while ago so you’ll have a little time to find someone to be her co-creator before she needs another merge.”

Once more he turned inward and sure enough he could sense another tendril of life attached to his spark who pulsed with love feeling him reach out to her. Though the thought that Megatron had been intimate with what was essentially his replacement hurt a little bit. “I see. I suppose I should read what Optimus left me sooner rather than later.” 

Excited shouts from the others drew their attention back to the Well. 

“So many sparks!”

“Frames - we’ll need frames!”

All around them, vents began to stutter and Orion turned away from Ratchet to see what had happened now. Nothing was wrong, however, a glowing outline of a mech had appeared over the Well. He smiled at the gathering.

 _“Know that Optimus Prime gave himself to save the AllSpark, to save all Cybertronians - remember his sacrifice as he will be the last Prime. Now to aid you in your recovery I have some new mecha just waiting for their sparks_ ,” Primus said and his hand pointed at a spot in the ground. A low rumble could be heard and first one frame and then a second erupted from the spot he had indicated. 

One bright spark zipped away from the other’s toward the first frame - a mostly dark purple seeker frame. It dove into the chestplate and the plates whirred closed. Bright red optics flickered to life as their brethren came online for the first time. Ratchet and Knock Out were first at his side as the new mech sat up and looked at the gathered mecha.

“Do you know your designation?” Knock Out asked.

A lopsided grin lit up his face. “Well, duh of course I do! Do you know yours?”

A second spark was gently pushed toward the other frame, this one a flyer with a rich blue hue to its plating. It eagerly went into its frame as well and red optics glowed as the mech came online.

The purple flyer stretched up and flexed his wings with his gaze firmly locked on the sky above. Starscream pinched one wingtip earning him a dirty look.

“No flying yet. Yes, we all know our designations here, but there have been problems with mecha coming online without knowing theirs. So answer the good medics before they get testy.”

“Oh, I’m Skywarp. Can I go flying now?”

“Let’s see if he wants to go as well,” Starscream said with a nod to where the other flyer had just climbed to his feet.

“I’m Thundercracker. And flying sounds good.”

Starscream’s face held a smile that lacked his usual disdain. “I’ll take you two under my wing. Come on there is so much to show you both.”

With a whoop of delight, Skywarp vaulted into the sky with Thundercracker close on his heels. Starscream turned to the gathering.

“I’ll take care of them both.” And then he shot off into the sky.

They watched the three seekers wheel and spin through the air before turning back to the Well when a warm laugh came from their god.

 _“Excellent. Now I have one more gift for today. We don’t want to overwhelm you with too many mecha at once, but this one is very special._ ” A bright green spark hovered over Primus’ hand as their god brought his hand up to his lips. An ex-vent from him sent the spark flying through the air. _“You will find the frame straight north from here. Blast Off, will you carry anyone who needs assistance?”_

The shuttle bobbed his helm. “Yes, of course,” before he jogged a little ways from the gathering in order to transform into his largest incarnation. The shuttle waited as the mecha whose alts were slow to climb aboard while the faster models were already tearing off in the direction Primus told them to go. 

Orion tore his optics away from the sight of Primus and turned towards Ratchet. “Can you take me to Megatron?”

The medic nodded before taking the twins from Orion. As soon as the truck had settled on his wheels, the twins were safely deposited inside. Ratchet transformed and took the lead as the pair drove towards the battered remains of the colony. The state it was in forced them to slow down as they navigated debris that still littered many of the streets.

“Primus, what happened?” Orion asked.

“The Quintessons sent a patrol here. We took them out but at great cost to ourselves.”

“Oh.”

The Forgotten were milling about the center building but moved towards the two Cybertronians when they spotted them. Ratchet returned to his root form and spoke to those that were gathered about them. 

“I know this might be difficult for you to understand, but this is not Optimus Prime - this is Orion Pax, the mech who took up the Matrix to become Optimus Prime. Optimus was created by the Matrix and he was forced to use it to save our AllSpark which returned Orion back to his frame. So he has no knowledge of the recent events.”

Hope pushed through her people until she reached the two mechs and her eyes narrowed as she gazed at them.

“Is this how you break your promise to help us?”

“Ratchet, if you could get the sparklings, I would like to transform and then perhaps you can explain to me what is going on.”

“Sorry,” the medic said even as he removed the pair.

Orion transformed and stood up and the unhappy beeps from the twins had him quickly plucking them from Ratchet’s hands.

“Now, tell me what is going on and who these people are.”

“Orion, these are the survivors from the Quintesson ships and this is Hope, who is their chosen speaker. They are former slaves that helped us search the wreckage looking for anyone who might have lived after the ships crashed. Prime promised to help them find a safe place to live and we are hoping the humans on Earth will allow them to move there.”

Orion nodded and turned towards the smaller alien. “Ah, I understand now. I’m not Prime and have no say in our government, but I will do everything in my power to see that we uphold our promise to you all.”

It was then they noticed a trembling under foot that became stronger and stronger. Orion and Ratchet both swung their heads about trying to see what was causing the ground to shake so. Their optics widened as they took in the massive frame moving towards the city. 

“Sweet Primus,” Ratchet said softly.

“A metrotitan! I never thought I would meet one after they had all left to form our colonies.”

“I know, but this is a new one, remember Primus said he had one more new mecha for us, this must be who he meant and he’s exactly what can save us all!”

A brief pulse of static over the main channel was followed by a burst of music.

:Thank you, Soundwave. Now that our local comm system is working again, please may I have everyone’s attention. Because of Optimus Prime’s sacrifice the AllSpark was saved. Now more than ever we must work together and to that end the Council he helped set up will be here to make sure we all stay safe. Now I’m sure you have noticed our newest member of our colony - Metroplex. Please stay clear until he has settled into his other form and then would everyone head to the old medical center. We need to make our top priority moving the injured into Metroplex along with all of our medical equipment. Finally, we will then begin to move our personal belongings and find our own residences in the safety of his walls. Thank you,: Metalhawk said.

Amublon ran out from inside the building and pointed at the huge mech as he transformed down into a city.

“I never thought I would see one functioning! By the AllSpark, how are we going to move everyone -”

“Carefully,” Ratchet said with a shake of his head. “I need to take Orion to see Megatron and I’ll get him ready to move while I’m there. Start on Prowl as he is the next most serious case. After we get them settled then we can begin moving the other patients.”

Ratchet took Orion by the arm and pulled him along as they navigated the halls of the complex. A familiar glyph over one hallway door announced announced their arrival into the medical wing. From there his friend led him into a private room where one mech rested - Megatron. Many devices were connected to him but all the indicators were green, much to Orion’s relief. He pulled a chair up next to the berth and placed the twins down beside Megatron’s helm. 

“Tor!” the pair squealed in delight.

“What happened to him?”

The medic stared at a console full of readings from the various machines in the room for a moment before looking over. “He and Ricochet took out a Quintesson warship together.”

“And this Ricochet, where is he?”

“He didn’t make it.”

“Oh, I’m sorry to hear that. How is Megatron doing?”

“Doing better. His systems have finally stabilized I think. I’ll get him ready to be moved, but if you could push him that would free me up to take some of his equipment with him.”

Orion watched as his friend bustled about the room unhooking devices and putting a few on the berth with his lover.

“Okay, you push him and I’ll bring the rest of this. I’ll let Blast Off know that we are heading his way.”

Standing up, he smiled down at the twins. “Hold on tight to him for me. I don’t want any of you rolling off.”

Beeps accompanied the two plastering themselves to Megatron. He shook his head as he took in the thought that his spark and Megatron’s had created the pair before him. A miracle it seemed that they had recreated, or well the Prime and Megatron had at least.

:Blast Off, I’ve got Megatron and headed your way. Ambulon will be bringing Prowl. We will try and get the most critical patients moved first.: 

:Yeah, I’m waiting outside the building. How many trips is this going to take?:

:We’ve got about thirty vehicons waiting for parts still so how ever many trips that will take to move everyone along with all of our equipment.:

Orion turned his optics down to Megatron and he spotted numerous weld marks and other damage his self repair were still working on. The sadness etched into Ratchet’s face had him ex-venting softly to himself even as he followed his friend out the door. He didn’t know what he had been dropped into but he could see the strain of the attack had changed everyone. Maybe the pad that he had been given could shed some light on the situation. Well, he when he got a moment to read it anyway. Soft meeps from the sparklings had him giving them a smile.

“I’m okay - I just need a klik to take in everything that’s happened, but I look forward to spending some time alone with you two. I’ll have to tell you both the story of how I met your creator so very long ago.”

Soon enough they were outside and a large shuttle sat with its ramp down and Ratchet led them into it. 

“Hello,” Orion called out as soon as they had entered, “thank you for taking us.”

“Uh, you’re welcome,” a mech’s voice said from the speakers above their heads.

“Blast Off, this is Orion Pax. Orion, this is Blast Off one of the combaticons and one of our few flyers left. Orion is right though, thank you for doing this. Your help will mean our patients will be out in the open far less than just pushing them across the colony especially since we have no idea if all the sharkticons are gone yet,” Ratchet said.

A pleased hum thrummed through the vessel. “Thank you. It’s nice someone recognizes how much help I am.”

Ratchet anchored the berth Megatron rested on. “I’m going to go help get some more patients moved here. I’m monitoring his systems at all times so just stay here and watch over him.”

“I could help -”

“Trust me, you have enough to deal with right now. Take this time to read that pad I gave you,” Ratchet said before striding down the ramp.

A soft huff left Orion but he did as he was ordered. However, instead of reading it, he decided a direct download would be faster. A quick plug in from one of his datacables and the information in the device was quickly transferred to his processor. Images and information spun through his head as he took in the war and its aftermath. His spark ached at the sight of what their world had become and then it soared as he saw it reborn. He ex-vented heavily as the information became more personal. He saw the developing relationship between the Prime and Megatron. The joy that was the arrival of the sparklings and then the reveal of another newspark around his own spark. Finally, the near loss of everything they had worked so hard for when the Quintessons attacked and how that had prompted Optimus to share his spark and his feelings with Ratchet. The last words of Optimus Prime resonated in his helm.

_“Take care and watch over all of them for me and Ratchet especially, as my loss will hit him the hardest and I only recently let him know how much I cared about him.”_

Orion latched onto Megatron’s berth with one hand as he staggered under everything that had just been shared with him. He wasn’t sure where to begin or how to even make things right between all the parties involved. His optics latched onto the sparklings as they watched him, concern etched on their tiny faces. He gave them a warm smile. He had only just met them but by Primus he would make sure that they knew they were loved at the very least.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was forged from my trying to make sense of the ending of the show - dammit we should have had Orion hanging out in the bottom of the Well!!


	21. Parley

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Italics once more stand in for Earth languages. 
> 
> Please let me know if you find any errors I might have missed and as always feedback is appreciated and encouraged!
> 
> Enjoy!

Orion stood at the back of the room and it was still a novelty to being one of the tallest bots in any gathering and for once that was a help as he could see over most anyone. He had tried to get out of this, but Ratchet had insisted that the humans might need to speak to him. The twins however, seemed happy to be here as they stood on his shoulders, a place that he had been a little reluctant to let them be, however numerous bots had said that they were adept at holding on. Well, he wasn’t moving so it was acceptable for now. 

“Key?” Twin Twist asked with one servo pointing towards the front where the leaders stood.

“Hmm, no dear one, we are going to stay back here and not block everyone’s view.”

A vehicon, Ping by his transponder code, next to him shook his head. “They are used to being up in the front since Prime and Megatron were always in the thick of things. Trust me, I know. I was one of the sparkling brigade.”

“Sparkling brigade, really? Well, it is nice to meet you, Ping. However, I’ve only been here for a few solar cycles so I think I’ll just stay back here and observe after all I’m still learning everyone’s designations. I have the transponder list, but I like to put a face to that information.”

Ping shrugged his shoulders. “Suit yourself. I’m here if you need anything.”

Orion gave him a smile. “Thank you. Everyone has been kind to me and I appreciate it.”

The room was packed with mecha and aliens alike as they gathered for the first contact with Earth since the attack; even Metroplex had his holoform active in the midst of them all. Ratchet worked on the console doing Primus only knows what to get Metroplex’s system to talk to the spacebridge on Earth. He and Soundwave were the lone surviving mechanisms that had the data from the Earth spacebridge still in their memory banks and were their only hope of contacting Earth, but Soundwave hadn’t shown up yet.

“There. I synced them up. Fire it up, Metroplex,” the medic said as he stepped back.

A low hum vibrated around them as Metroplex activated his bridge. After a few moments the screen lit up and a human appeared it. 

The Council stepped forward as one and Ratchet swept an arm towards them.

_“Our Council needs to speak with the Director, please,”_ Ratchet said.

The man nodded, _“Of course. I’ll contact her right away.”_

He turned to a handheld device and spoke in it. _“Director, I’ve got Ratchet and their Council calling, and yes he spoke in English. Right, I’ll let him know.”_

_“She’s on her way back, she said she had just left the main gate - eta of less than ten minutes,”_ he told the waiting Cybertronians. The way his eyes shifted about, Ratchet could tell the human was searching among the survivors for someone specific.

_“Hicks, is there someone you are looking for?”_ Ratchet asked.

The man turned his eyes up to the medic. _“I was wondering if Bee is there?”_

_“I’m here!”_ The yellow scout pushed through the crowd and waved at the human. _“Hi, Dwayne. I was late getting here and got stuck in the back.”_

The human grinned up at his friend but then turned around enough to flip a finger at someone behind him. _“Told you so, Vasquez. You owe me a beer.”_

Bumblebee shook his head with a soft laugh. _“Do I even want to know what that was about?”_

Hicks nodded over at a human woman who had come up to the view screen and she gave a wave to the former Autobot as well. _“She said that you were too pretty to be out on the front line and get hit and I said you were more than a pretty face. And here you are with weld marks and everything.”_

Bee dropped his head and his shoulders sank. _“Honestly, I’m just glad we won after everything. Too many of us didn’t make it.”_

The smiles left the faces of the two humans. _“Aw, man. I’m sorry. We didn’t -”_

The yellow helm lifted and Bee gave them a small smile. _“It’s okay, I know you guys think we are pretty much indestructible but there are some things that even we can’t stand against.”_

Ultra Magnus gently steered the smaller bot away from the console. _“Too many good mecha gave their spark to defend our world - we owe it to them to not make light of our battle.”_

The humans ducked their heads. _“We are very sorry to hear of your losses, but know that those of us at this site - well, we are glad to see you. And I should warn you that the world governments have been going a bit mad since your sudden departure.”_

Bumblebee spun free of Ultra’s arm and moved back to the console. _“Seriously? Are they back to saying we want to conquer them?”_

The pair shared a look. _“That’s one theory but mostly they are saying how you would sell us out to save yourselves and that we should expect an invasion force coming out of the bridge.”_

Ratchet took the scout by the arm and pulled him away from the screen. Metalhawk and the rest of the Council took a step closer.

_“I see. Thank you for telling us this. We will be sharing this with your leaders as well, but Shockwave and his team,”_ Metalhawk began.

_“You remember Fred and George?”_ Bee shouted out from behind the Council. _“They were with Shockwave.”_

Metalhawk threw a glare at the smaller mech before continuing, _“As I was saying Shockwave and his contingent of vehicons were lost along with another team that went to help them. Many good mecha lost their sparks protecting the data in the bridge in order to protect your world. The only reason we are able to contact you now is because of Ratchet’s extensive work with both spacebridges that allowed us to connect with yours once more.”_

The rapid tapping of shoes was followed by the Director sweeping into the area. _“Hicks, Vasquez - return to your stations.”_ She turned towards the screen and her welcoming smile dropped as she noted who now stood for the Cybertronians. _“I’m Director Fairborne, might I know who it is I’m speaking to?”_

_“I am Metalhawk, I and my fellow companions were chosen by Prime to help him lead our people. This is Ultra Magnus, Starscream, and Onslaught. It is with regret that I tell you that Prime was lost when he saved the AllSpark.”_

_“Oh, no I am sorry to hear that. What about Megatron?”_

_“He remains in stasis after he and a mech named Ricochet managed to take out a Quintesson warship. Our medics expect him to live, but it will be some time before he is in any shape to be up and about. After the battle, our first priority was of course searching for survivors. Now that that is done, we need you to call the leaders of your world together because we have several things that need to be addressed as soon as possible.”_

One hand swept through her hair and she shook her head. _“That will take at least a week, maybe more, to negotiate such a thing - unless you can give me a reason that will make them come together faster.”_

_“How long do you think it will take the Quintessons to come looking for their missing warships? That is something we don’t know either so time is of the essence for not only us but our new allies. Hope, will you please join us.”_

The throng of mecha shifted about until a much smaller body slipped up to join the Council. 

_“Director, this is Hope - the chosen speaker for her people and they have perhaps a few of your weeks of rations before they will begin to starve. They can survive in our atmosphere but there is no food here for them.”_

The human’s eyes grew wide and they darted from the huge Cybertronian to the much smaller alien, confusion furrowing her brows.

_“Is that a Quintesson?”_

The alien’s shoulders drew back and her head came up, eyes hard as she watched the human. _“NO! We Forgotten. We free now. Need new home.”_

Metalhawk shook his head. _“No, Director you are looking at some of the remnants of the Quintesson slave army that attacked us. The other part of that being the sharkticons who are a mechanoid species, however, they merely reverted to their base coding and are running wild across our world now. The Forgotten’s home planet was conquered long ago, so long ago that none of them remember what they used to call themselves so that is why they chose that name to identify themselves. Prime made them a promise, one that all of us will do our best to ensure is kept. They need a safe place to live far from where the Quintessons might find them. Your world is their only hope of such a thing.”_

Fairborne shifted her eyes over to Hope and her gaze softened just a little at the circumstance of this meeting. _“How many are we talking? I can probably get the President here far faster than all the world leaders.”_

_“They have maybe a few hundred of them left alive, sadly most did not survive the destruction of the two warships and during the actual fight we were forced to kill them before they could be freed from their control collars.”_

_“What? I’m not sure I understand -”_

Ratchet stepped forward once more and dropped one of the devices on the table in front of the screen. The metallic thud drew everyone’s gaze to it. Hope pointed at it with one long finger.

_“That! They wired to hurt us if we no obey. Forced to fight - to kill. We wear from little on. Only come off if need new one. We free now. Want peace.”_

Fairborne’s mouth dropped open and her eyes grew hard. _“That is horrible. If there are that few that need a home then I’ll send a request to the President to hear their plea.”_ Her gaze drifted up to Metalhawk. _“And your people showed them mercy even though they attacked you. If that doesn’t help show the world your intentions I don’t know what will. Do you want me to request that space be set aside for your people as well when the Quintessons return?”_

Metalhawk shook his head. _“That won’t be necessary. We were thinking that Mars would be a suitable location to move our colony too. We do not need an atmosphere to function and that will hopefully be enough space between us so that your people will not worry about our presence as much. We don’t wish to remain there any longer than we have to, but we need a safe place for our non-combatants while we deal with the Quintessons.”_

_“Deal with them? I thought you were just going to avoid them by fleeing.”_

Starscream grinned. _“Oh no, we won’t let them have our world, but we lack the firepower at this moment to keep it in a straight up fight.”_

Onslaught nodded. _“But we will not let them peacefully plunder our world while we hide off world. We are setting up some automated defenses so that they will not find our world so easy to take as they think.”_

_“Before we lost Prime, he helped us come up with a plan to protect not only your world but those of our people who cannot fight. We honor him and those who already lost their sparks against the Quintessons by following it,”_ Ultra Magnus said.

The golden flightframe took a step closer to the screen. _“My associates are correct in everything they have told you. As for the meeting, we can travel to your world whenever you tell us. Time is of the essence so we can’t wait for Megatron to recover enough in order to be able to attend.”_

_“I completely understand and I will make sure that everyone knows how time sensitive this request is. I’ll contact you as soon as I hear anything. Earth out,”_ Fairborne said. 

The screen went dark. Orion meant to move from the wall he had been leaning against but a series of warnings popped up on his HUD and he knew that perhaps he should have paid a bit more attention to how much fuel he had consumed recently. He could comm his friend but that might get Ratchet’s medical protocols in an uproar and he’d rather not be on the receiving end of that; so before Ping could move away, he laid a hand on his shoulder.

“Ping, would you do me a favor and go get Ratchet for me. I’m afraid I have a few too many error messages and things might go poorly if I try to move away from the wall.”

The vehicon nodded but leaned a little closer so that hopefully only Orion could hear him. “Comm him and just ask him to meet you back here so you can talk to him privately. If I go tell him you need to see him in a medical way, well, that won’t go well for any of us.”

Orion grinned down at the smaller mech. “Excellent suggestion.”

He opened a private channel to his friend. :Ratchet, can you meet me in the back of the room. I need to speak with you.:

Ratchet spun in a circle until he spotted the larger truckformer and nodded back to his friend. :Of course, I’ll be right there.:

Orion ex-vented with a grin. “Thank you, for your help. Now I just have to explain the situation without hopefully getting yelled at.”

Ping laughed. “Good luck with that, but should you need any assistance - no matter when or where - I’ll be there. Tailgate and I are all that’s left of the original watchers that Megatron and Prime picked, but I think I can safely say that both of us are quite willing to help you out should you and the little ones need any.”

“Thank you, I appreciate the offer and I’ll be sure to call if I need a hand.”

“Happy to help, Orion, and here comes Ratchet so I’m going to escape the blast radius,” Ping said with a grin and a wave to the little ones who returned the gesture with smiles of their own. 

Ratchet watched the vehicon nearly jog away but shook his head and turned his attention to his friend. He felt the brief pulse of joy from the newspark as soon as he got close enough for her to pick up on him and he returned it daring to hope that he wouldn’t soon be losing that privilege on top of everything else that he had lost recently.

“Is everything okay, Orion?”

One servo came to rest above the former Prime’s spark as he felt Elita practically bounce around in happiness now that Ratchet was near. That was odd, she didn’t react that way to Megatron, but then the other mech was in stasis so perhaps he needed to be online first before the newspark would react.

“Well, I have to admit I may have a few error messages at the moment,” Orion said as he raised a hand when his friend’s eyes narrowed, “I know, I know - I should have come to you sooner, but I assumed you, like myself was still reeling from everything that just happened. So, please accept my apologies for not attending to this sooner. And on top of that I must say it is rather disconcerting how Elita is currently moving about when you got closer - is that normal?”

Ratchet shook his head before he pulled out a scanner. “I want to apologize as well, I should have come to see you sooner but I was afraid as well. I’m sorry I didn’t take into account your feelings when I brought back Optimus and I have to wonder how you can still even talk to me after I betrayed you like that. As for Elita, that is normal, in fact Megatron used to joke that Optimus would never be able to sneak up on him while the twin’s orbited his spark. She is drawn to her co-creator which right now she thinks is me.”

The scanner beeped before Orion could answer and then he found a cube of medical grade energon held out to him. 

“You are too low and this will help bring your readings more into the normal range, so drink up.”

“Ugh, can’t we just walk over to the dispensary -”

“Uh huh and you didn’t do that already because you wanted someone to keep you company?”

A heavy ex-vent left Orion at that and he took the offered cube and took a sip even as he made a face.

“Still tastes awful.”

“I know. Care to tell me why you haven’t been fueling properly? Don’t tell me you forgot all the data on newsparks you helped me find so long ago.”

The medic gave an encouraging wave and he took another long gulp from the cube.

“No, I’ve not forgotten and I’ve been making sure the twins always have enough, but I find that it just doesn’t taste right lately and it’s been upsetting my tank. I didn’t have this problem the last time I woke up under unusual circumstances and I kept hoping it would clear up on its own.”

Ratchet gave a thoughtful hum. “Well, that’s not an uncommon reaction in a newly sparked individual although it is odd that Optimus never told me he was dealing with that problem. Actually, no I shouldn’t be surprised. As for the problem, well there are some additives that I can give you that should help ease any further occurrences of that particular issue.”

Orion drank the last of the cube down and the warnings flickered off finally. Although it tasted like slag, it didn’t seem to upset his system like the normal fuel had been doing.

“There we go. That fixed my problem. Thank you -”

Ratchet waggled a finger at him. “Yeah, don’t thank me, not for doing my job.” The medic dropped his optics and a long ex-vent left him. “Would it make it easier if you were to see someone else? I don’t want you neglecting yourself and endangering the newspark because of me. I can hand your case over to someone else if that would help you not wait so long to see a medic.” 

Orion shook his head. “No, that’s not it at all. I trust you while Knock Out intimidates me and Ambulon is still a stranger. I’ve just been feeling overwhelmed by everything and didn’t want to bother you while you’ve been dealing with your own situation.”

Ratchet hooked an arm around his friend’s elbow and started for the door.

“Shall we finish this discussion in your quarters or mine?”

An embarrassed laugh had the medic turning his face towards Orion’s once more.

“Well, see we’ve been recharging in Megatron’s room in the medbay. The twins just seem to do better having us together so I just squeeze up on his berth with him. I keep hoping that he will wake up and then we could decide together where we wanted our room to be.”

“Well, why don’t we go see Megatron and I can get you those additives while we talk. How are you adapting to life with the twins?”

Orion’s smile lit up his face. “Primus, I couldn’t love them anymore than I do already. They sometimes give me a confused look as I miss some cue but we muddle through it together. I don’t know if they understand exactly what happened, but they are adapting and accept me and love me in return. Everyone so far has been very kind and always telling me that they are there to help should I need any.”

Ratchet barked out a laugh. “Yeah, well everyone loves those two scraplets and want a chance to play with them. Have you been taking them to the dispensary for their mid-day fuel?”

Orion nodded. “Yes, now I do. At first, I thought maybe I should keep them close to Megatron so I had a cube with me for them. I took it out when it got close to mid-day, but they began beeping and pointing out of the room rather urgently and they projected loud and clear to me that we should go get some fuel elsewhere. I asked Breakdown and he explained what they wanted me to do.”

They fell into step as Ratchet led them towards the medical wing.

“That sounds like their normal behavior which is good. I must say that Optimus and Megatron’s policy of letting them socialize with others has really helped them develop quickly.”

“I’ll make sure they get out more then.”

The door slid open to the room where Megatron lay unmoving on a berth. There was space now so he had been given a room to himself. 

“Tor!” the twin’s squealed with delight as Orion placed them next to their creator’s helm.

“That’s it, wake him up,” Ratchet said with a laugh, “he’s been in recharge long enough.”

Encouraged the two beeped loudly at Megatron once more while Ratchet pulled Orion over to one side.

“Listen, I know you have a lot on your processor but there is one more thing you need to take care of and soon - your newspark is going to need another spark merge if she is going to develop properly.”

Orion let out a long ex-vent. “I know. How long will Megatron be like this?”

The medic strode over to a console and looked at the readings on it for a moment. 

“Honestly, I thought once that boost stuff was out of his system and we stabilized him that he would have come online, so I can only say I hope it is soon. Even then though he will need some time to recover before he can safely spark merge again.”

“I see. What kind of boost did he use during the fight that caused this?”

Another sad ex-vent escaped the medic. “This isn’t common knowledge so do not repeat what I tell you now to anyone. Many vorns ago Jazz, who was Optimus’ head of Special Operations, infiltrated one of Megatron’s outposts and stole a formula that his scientists had been working on. When Jazz returned he kept the formula to himself saying that it was too dangerous for everyone to use - he called it his suicide boost. Ricochet was Jazz - he had come in with the neutrals as that persona and stayed undercover to ensure that things remained peaceful between all the factions. It was he who we lost along with so many others. Optimus felt it was best to let his identity remain as Ricochet as he had been one of Metalhawk’s picks to be his advisor.”

Orion sat down heavily on a nearby stool. “No, not Jazz too. Primus, almost everyone I have ever known is dead now.”

Ratchet pulled up another chair and sat down in it before laying one hand on the other mech’s leg.

“I’m sorry, but I know you had been hoping that he was out there somewhere still and I thought you deserved to know the truth. Jazz died a hero and Megatron was instrumental in making sure that he was able to stop that ship before it could escape or send out a distress beacon.”

Orion shook his head and the worried beeps from the nearby sparklings forced him to form a smile on his face. “I’m okay, little ones, I was just sad to hear that someone I knew has returned to the Well.”

The pair reached for their other creator and he willingly scooped them up and brought them close to his spark where the twins did their best to hug his chest. The newspark pulsed her own concern to him and smiled down at the pair and broadcast his own love and devotion to them all.

“Thank you, I feel better already. Ratchet, earlier you apologized for what happened down at the spacebridge. May I ask, why did you do it when you knew what would happen to me?”

Ratchet gazed down at his legs.

“I can only say that I was afraid and selfish. I didn’t trust Megatron to keep the peace - not after so many vorns of him trying to destroy every last Autobot. And I was selfish because I didn’t want to try and lead what was left of us by myself. I needed Optimus, he’s always been the foundation of our faction - he was my foundation.”

Orion nodded. “I think I understand. It still feels a bit like you betrayed me but I know Megatron told me some of his actions during the war so I can understand now why you didn’t trust him.” A long ex-vent left the former Prime. “I’ve been thinking about it a lot and I hate to say it but perhaps it was for the best. After all, from what I have learned Optimus did use the Matrix to find and save the AllSpark which I couldn’t have done. And after losing so many friends already, I find that I can’t be too mad at you, Ratchet. You and Megatron are really all I have left from my old world.”

“I don’t deserve your friendship but I’ll do my best to be a better one. I promise.”

“I’m going to hold you to that because I don’t know of anyone else besides you who could possibly be Elita’s co-creator - not with Megatron still recovering. I do know Soundwave from before but we were never that close so I’ll have to trust Optimus’ decision to ask you. So will you?”

The glowing smile on the medic’s face told Orion what he needed to know before he even spoke.

“I would be honored. I’ll do my best to help you however you need it and whenever you need it.”

Orion shifted from pede to pede. “Um, how best to do this? Do we need to wait until the twin’s fall into recharge later?”

“We can if that makes you more comfortable but Optimus and I merged for the first time a room much like this. After winning the day against the Quintessons neither of us wanted to wait any longer to see if it would work between the newspark and myself. You have to realize that Megatron made Optimus promise to find someone else should anything happen to him because at that time Primus had pretty much stated that if things became dire for the newspark the Matrix would bond with it and that spark would then be destined to be the next Prime and that was something neither of them wanted for any of their creations.”

The truckformer nodded and he placed the twins down beside Megatron once more.

“Keep an optic on your creator while I take care of Elita,” he said to them before turning his optics back to his friend, “So, how did you two do it with the only berth occupied already?”

Ratchet scrambled out of the chair and gestured to it. “Sit there and then I’ll straddle your lap - that will allow our chests to be close enough to do a merge for Elita’s needs.”

Orion scooted off the stool and over onto the chair. Ratchet climbed onto his lap and although it still seemed rather intimate it did seem better than doing this on a berth. 

“If this makes you uncomfortable we could try standing up, but honestly I wouldn’t advise attempting it that way,” Ratchet said.

“I can’t think of anyway better than this. Alright then, let’s do this.”

His chestplates began to crack apart and Ratchet followed suit. A soft gasp escaped the medic as he gazed down at the other’s chassis.

“The shell of the Matrix - it’s gone. I expected it would be attached to your frame still.”

Orion bumped his head on Ratchet’s as he tried to see into his own chest. The frame of the artifact had been barely visible before but now there was nothing. The newspark however, took the close proximity of the medic’s spark as her cue to get into position as she strained to reach the other’s spark. Sensing her urgency, Orion shifted closer bringing their sparks together. Joy flooded through him both her’s and Ratchet’s as the two renewed their bond and he laughed as his worries vanished under the force of their happiness. He wasn’t sure how long their sparks had been near each other but when they finally broke apart all he could feel was Elita’s satisfaction as she settled back behind his spark. The armor over his spark folded back into place as Ratchet’s did the same. 

“Thank you for allowing me to be her co-creator still,” Ratchet said as he climbed off of Orion. “I have to admit I was avoiding you a bit because of her. I was afraid she would have lost her bond to me already and if you had found someone else - I just didn’t know how I would deal with that as well as everything else.”

Orion offered him a smile. “Believe me I understand what you mean now that I’ve grown attached to the twins. Now, I don’t suppose you could show me how to take care of Megatron so we could move him to private quarters with us? I am tired of trying to fit up there with him.”

A thoughtful hum from Ratchet was followed by a quick nod. “Yes, I believe he’s through the worst of it so we just need to let his self-repair finish its job so that he will wake up. I can show you what to look for and I’ll send all alerts directly to me so if there are any problems I’ll know about it and can respond immediately. And if we move him to my quarters, the berth room is big enough for his and one for the rest of us. After he wakes up and should he decide that he wants private quarters with you - we can ask Metroplex to change the configuration so that you can have your own space and I can have my own room as well off of the common area.”

The former Prime stood up. “Yes, let’s do that. I think that will work perfectly for us.”

Ratchet bustled about the room picking up various devices and placing them at the foot of Megatron’s berth. 

“There, that should be everything we might need. We just need to push him down to my quarters. Luckily, I chose a place near here so we won’t have to take him far before we can hook everything back up again.”

Orion grinned down at the twins. “Hold on we’re going for a ride.”

They gave happy meeps as they hung onto Megatron’s helm. He wasn’t sure if this newfound hope that was blossoming in him was from the sparklings, the newspark, Ratchet, or himself; regardless, he was going to embrace it for all it was worth.


	22. An Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here we are at the end finally. Hope you all enjoyed the ride and I would like to thank everyone for their support! It meant a great deal to me!

Giggles and beeps were the first thing his audials registered as his systems slowly began to boot up. Everything was so sluggish to respond that he wasn’t sure if his optics weren’t working or if where he was at just happened to be dark when he attempted to bring them online. However, he knew those voices anywhere and tentatively sent a pulse of his love over his bond to them. Squeals of delight accompanied the excitement that thrummed through the bond back to him which was then followed by a banging on a door that was close by.

“Tor!”

“Tor!”

“What are you two going on about? Oh, do you want to see your creator now? All right, let’s go.”

He shuttered his optics at the sudden light. That other voice, it reminded him of Orion, but that was impossible. His audials must be mistaken - it had to be Optimus, to think anything else would just result in disappointment for him. The brief glance at his surroundings had him wondering where he was, this wasn’t their quarters and it didn’t look like the medbay. He heard the faint metal on metal noises that could only mean there was a sparkling climbing something and he brought his optics on once more to find himself staring into the grinning face of Topspin.

“Tor!” he shouted and grabbed hold of his creator’s much larger helm.

He tried to laugh but it felt like his intake was filled with flakes of metal and only a hacking wheeze left him. His vision was then filled with the beaming smile of Optimus - wait that couldn’t be right. Optimus had never looked that happy to see him before. Distressed beeps from the floor had him trying to get up to reach his other sparkling but the other mech gently laid a hand on his chest.

“Don’t move, I’ll get him. I wouldn’t dream of keeping you from seeing your creator, Twin Twist.”

The second sparkling joined his brother and their tiny servos clung to his head even as he tried to clear his intake.

“Here, let me lift the berth so you can get some energon to clear out whatever’s blocking you. I was getting so worried when you didn’t wake up like Ratchet kept expecting you to.”

Megatron could only nod as the berth was lifted until he was in a sitting position and the twin’s shifted so that they now perched on his shoulder happily chattering at him nonstop in their own unique language.

As soon as he finished moving the berth, Optimus was right there with a cube of energon. He took a sip from it and that coated his intake and he attempted to speak once more.

“Optimus?” he said with more of a croak than his usual voice.

A sad smile crossed the face in front of him. “I’m sorry but he’s gone. He had to use the Matrix to save the Allspark so it’s just me now, Orion.”

Megatron’s mouth dropped open and his spark stuttered in disbelief.

“Promise me that we aren’t in the Well because I thought that was the only way I would ever see you again.”

A soft laugh was Orion’s response. “I promise you we haven’t returned to the Well.” His optics grew serious though. “Are you disappointed that he’s gone?”

Tiny hands banged on his frame for his attention and he cupped the pair and brought them down to his chest. “I haven’t forgotten you two and you know I love you both.” 

He lifted his other hand towards Orion who grabbed it with his own. “I am sorry that Primus used him so because he was a good mech and he deserved better from our god; but I will never regret having you back. I’m sure you know about the newspark around yours -”

The bright blue helm nodded. “Elita, he wanted to name her Elita and I think that I will.”

A smile lit Megatron’s face. “A femme and I think that’s a fine name. She was created because I asked Optimus to give me a hand with some excess charge. Yes, we were intimate and shared sparks but that was more for him. He wanted to know that I knew that he wasn’t you, if you follow what I mean. She was just a gift from Primus for Optimus and now she’s safe from the Matrix.”

Orion shook his head. “I don’t think anyone has to worry about that relic anymore after what Primus said at the Well. He appeared above it shortly after I was lifted out of it and announced that there will be no more Primes and Ratchet has confirmed that the Matrix is completely gone from my frame.”

Shuttering his optics he sank back against the bed. “Good, that’s one less thing we have to worry about. How long have I been in stasis anyway?”

“Several orns -”

Megatron’s engine ramped up in volume and he attempted to push himself off the berth but Orion held him back with a single hand.

“You are in no shape to go anywhere. I’ve already called Ratchet and he’s on his way here now.”

“Who’s in charge? Where exactly are we?”

Off in the distance they could hear a siren rapidly approaching their location. Orion gave him another smile but it did little to quell the anxiety in Megatron’s spark.

“Metalhawk and the other councilors -”

“No!” he barked out and once more tried to push off the berth. “Let me up! I will not let that mech ruin what Optimus and I built!”

Ratchet rushed through the door and took one look at the scene and shook a finger at the former warlord.

“You so much as move one pede off that berth and I will weld you down to it. Your systems are still recovering and that is what I intend to make sure they do! Now settle down or so help me I will sedate you and then reformat you into a toaster!”

Megatron narrowed his optics as he glared at the medic. “Metalhawk,” he spat out.

“Ah, that’s what got you all riled up. It’s alright. Optimus came to an agreement with him before we lost him. The two of them formed a Council from the survivors and they have enough to deal with without you adding to it.”

A snarl left Megatron’s lips as he attempted to shift off the berth once more. Orion jumped in front of Ratchet and pushed him back down.

“Please, you’re systems have been through enough. Tell us what we can do to convince you that everything will be okay.”

Meeps of concern from the twins in his arms had Megatron settling back against the berth.

“Who exactly makes up this Council that is leading us and where are we? I don’t recognize this place.”

Ratchet moved up and began scanning Megatron. “The Council Optimus put together is comprised of Ultra Magnus, Metalhawk, Onslaught, and Starscream. When Optimus saved the AllSpark, Primus gifted our people with several new mechanisms - two seekers and a metrotitan. That’s where we are now, inside the titan, Metroplex. He’s our safe haven as we prepare for moving the colony to Mars.”

“Mars?” Megatron barked out, “Why in the name of Unicron would we go there if Cybertron is whole and we obviously won against the Quintessons.”

Orion sat on the edge of his berth and held Megatron’s servo.

“Because we don’t know how long we have until the Quintessons show up here looking to find out what happened to their ships. Now our people have been busy leaving some surprises behind -”

Megatron levered one hand down and started to push up once more. “Oh, for the love of Primus I need to go tell them -”

Ratchet and Orion both pushed on his shoulders until he was reclined. He hated to say it but he was pretty sure that feat wasn’t that hard.

“If you need to talk to them, I’ll go wheel a console into here. Your systems are still lagging and you are not going anywhere,” Ratchet said before stomping out of the room.

Orion grinned down at him. “He’s bossy but he means well. We were both worried about you.”

He arched an orbital ridge at that. “Somehow I doubt he was that upset.”

A soft humm of disapproval from Orion was not the response he expected. “Oh, he might not be your amica but I think he took it as an affront to his skills that you resisted everything he tried to bring you online. That and much like everyone else he was worried what would happen to the twins if you didn’t recover.”

“Now that I can believe. How have they been?”

“Good. There are times I believe that Optimus is the only being in the universe who could have done what he did. I don’t know if I could have walked away from them like that and I’ve known them for far less time than he did.”

There was a clatter out in the other room and then a table was carried in by the medic. He placed it down near Megatron and turned it on.

“I already contacted Metalhawk and he’s expecting a call from us. There we go.”

The screen fired up and Metalhawk’s face filled most of the field although he could see the other councilors were around him.

“Megatron, it is good to see you online finally. Now what was so urgent that you needed to talk to us instead of spending time with your family?”

Megatron leaned forward and let his optics shift over towards Onslaught.

“You need to find out who Swindle has been in contact with because he is the reason the Quintessons came here in the first place! Isolate him and hold him accountable for his actions!”

Metalhawk shook his head. “We can’t do that, however he isn’t a threat anymore and exactly how do you know this to be true?”

“Ricochet discovered that little tidbit when he hacked into their systems. He contacted me just before he blew the engines and told me what he had found. And why aren’t you more concerned about this? Is that why are we leaving our world?”

The golden flyer narrowed his optics. “Swindle is dead. He died in the fight. That is how I know that won’t be a problem, but we still have to worry about the Quintessons showing up looking for their missing ships.”

Megatron gave a curt nod. “I hate to say it, but that is probably for the best. Sorry, Onslaught. As for the other thing, well, Rico also told me that this patrol never filed a change in their route, apparently their greed overruled their caution. I’m sure even now they are searching for their ships but according to Ricochet they are looking on the wrong side of the galaxy. We are safe from them for the moment.”

A rush of ex-vents could be heard from the gathered councilors.

“Now that is good news! We will announce that shortly and let the humans know that we won’t be heading to Mars anytime soon. I know you won’t believe me, but I am glad you are alive still. If not for Ricochet and yourself we might never have learned this. So thank you, from all of us. Now rest up and enjoy your family.”

The screen flickered off and Megatron settled back as his spark finally settling now that his family was safe.

“Tor?” Twin Twist asked with a digit pointed towards the door.

“Hmm, well I don’t think anyone is going to let me go anywhere anytime soon, mechling.”

“Humph, I’m glad you haven’t completely lost your processor. Tor is restricted to his berth until I’ve finished rebooting all of his systems and made sure everything is still within acceptable parameters.”

Orion laughed. “Yes, well on that I agree with Ratchet. If you two want to go to the dispensary you’ll have to settle for just me taking you. Perhaps we can bring back some for everyone while you two talk?”

Ratchet gave a hesitant nod. “Alright, I’ll look at Megatron’s systems and see if I can start bringing any of his secondary ones back online.”

He felt that he showed great restraint when he didn’t reach out and smack the medic. “I am right here, you know.”

The medic broke out into an unapologetic grin however. “I got so used to you being in stasis that I’m more used to talking at you then to you.”

Orion’s laugh brought a smile to Megatron’s face. 

“I’ll be back soon so both of you behave.”

As soon as the twins had disappeared out the door with his lover, Megatron waved the medic to sit.

“So what is it that you wish to discuss with me?”

Ratchet sank down onto the other berth that was in the room, something he had just noticed.

“Before you ask, I already apologized to Orion and I would like to think we are slowly becoming the friends we once were. I think he wants us to try and make this work so the three of us can be in the same room without too much discord. All of the little ones are going to need us to be the adults here.”

A single grunt left him as he shifted on his berth. “All? Of course, Optimus asked you to be the co-creator, right?”

Ratchet nodded. “Yes. He also told me about the plans you two had been making on becoming conjunx. I -”

“Good. I was hoping he would tell you himself since he seemed to be avoiding you.”

The medic gazed down at the floor. “Yes, well for a few days there I thought I was going to get what the humans liked to call their ‘happily ever after’. We were going to talk to you when you woke up about changing things up a bit, but I guess that doesn’t really matter now.”

The grief laced words had him feeling sympathy to someone who had frequently been an enemy, but he offered a servo to the medic who latched onto it.

“Although I love Orion that doesn’t mean I won’t miss Optimus as well. He was truly one of the best of us and he deserved far better than he received. When I lost Orion a second time I hated you for what you did - but now. Now, I am pretty sure that if you hadn’t I would have lost not only myself but the twins as well to Unicron. And Optimus’ last gesture was to save us all by saving the AllSpark and without the Matrix and Primus guiding him none of that would have been possible. It’s up to us to make sure no one forgets just how much he gave for our people.” 

Ratchet’s head lifted and he nodded. “No, we won’t ever let anyone forget who he was or what he did for all of us.”

“That we can agree on. I’m glad that you were able to bond with the little one. I was worried that the newspark would be forced into being the next Prime.”

“Yes, we weren’t sure it would work, but it did and thankfully Orion let me keep that privilege. She has become the joy that I thought had been lost in my life.”

Ratchet studied the grey mech for a moment.

“Tell me, can you feel her like you do the twins?”

Megatron turned his attention inward but only the bond he had with the twins seemed to thrum with life, distantly he could feel Orion through his bond with the twins but he couldn’t find the one connected to Elita.

“No, I don’t think so, but I only had a few merges with Optimus before everything happened. Did you think I would still have a bond with her?”

Ratchet’s optical ridges shot up. “I had no idea if you did or not. No one has ever tried what we did before, and honestly my medical and personal opinion would both be not to try it unless you absolutely had to.”

Megatron gave a quick nod of his helm before offering the medical port on his wrist. “I was just curious if you knew anything more. Now can I at least have my comm system back online. There is one more message I need to deliver.”

“Of course.”

He felt the gentle snick as the medic connected to him and then his presence as the other mech delved into his systems. It was odd to have so little control over his own frame but the medical override in effect kept him from interacting with anything at the moment.

“Why did you have to shut off everything anyway? Was I in that bad of shape?”

The soft snort of laughter from Ratchet had him watching the medic.

“Optimus and Soundwave pulled you from where you were embedded into the hull of the ship. Yes, you were in that bad of shape and on top of that, that slag that Rico gave you - well it saved you and then nearly killed you. How much of it did you take anyway?”

“Half a cube. He drank the other half.”

Ratchet threw his hands up in the air. “Seriously! It’s amazing you lived at all!”

“That mixture worked beyond my expectations. We can use that -”

“No, we won’t. The knowledge of how to make it went to the Well with Rico and I say good riddance. That stuff might have given you a boost during the fight but when it began to be burned out of your systems - we had to fight to keep you alive. It might have saved you but then it very nearly killed you.”

“I see. The point is moot then.”

His communication network blinked ready and he initialized it’s boot-up. After a moment he found an information packet waiting for him and when he opened it he found a link to a channel.

“There that’s the new main channel. Soundwave had to build a new tower, actually - I think he’s built two now, maybe three. He just says there is a redundancy in the system so if we loose the main one we won’t be limited to short range only again.”

“Good. I’m glad to hear he survived as well. I saw Dreadwing and my escort go down - did any other flyers survive?”

“Besides the ones you already now about, just Blast Off and Vortex. We lost most of the vehicons as well along with Shockwave and Ironhide. Most of our heavy hitters along with the gestalt are gone - although I will say I doubt anyone will miss Swindle.”

He shook his head. “So many lost and there weren’t a lot of us to begin with. I suppose we should be grateful that Optimus managed to recover the AllSpark then so we have some hope of rebuilding our people.”

While the medic continued to poke about his system, he bundled up the file from his conversation with Jazz and sent it directly to Soundwave. A ping from the same mech came back almost instantly and he opened the channel sent to him.

:I’m glad to see you made it.:

A soft laugh from Soundwave had him smiling.

:Well, I was beginning to wonder if you were ever going to return to us, especially since Orion came back. Thank you for sharing the file. Jazz will be missed.:

:Yes, he will. How are things with the new Council? I assume you have been keeping an optic on everyone.:

:Of course. But so far everyone has been focused on moving and setting up remote defenses for our world, so no one has had time to start up any of the old fights. What about you? How are things between you and Ratchet?:

His snort drew a glance from the medic but he turned his focus back to his friend.

:Well, it will be interesting to see how this develops but I can’t fault Optimus for picking him. Of course, there maybe times where I will need someone to remind me that this is what Optimus wanted so I don’t strangle him.:

:Of course, I’ll gladly remind you of that. The little ones have been through enough without you two fighting.: 

:True,: he said just as his HUD lit up with numerous initialization requests, :and it looks like the medic has finished turning everything on. I will talk to you later.:

:Have fun.:

He authorized all the requests before turning his attention back to Ratchet.

“So how are we going to make this work?”

“Patience. I can ask Metroplex to make a room for me off the main one so you two can have a berth together. That way I’ll be here for Elita still.”

Megatron paused and swept his gaze across the area. It was obvious there was one big berth besides the one he was on now.

“You two have been sharing a berth already, right?”

“Yes, and we would pull yours over to that one so that the twins could snuggle down between you and Orion. The little ones do seem to like having everyone together.”

He narrowed his optics as he watched Ratchet. “And what would have happened if Optimus had remained?”

Ratchet chuckled and shook his head. “His big suggestion was to get a bigger berth.”

Megatron threw back his head and laughed at the normally reserved Prime’s idea.

“Good to know that he thought enough of me to include me in your berth. I think he had the right of it though. I don’t expect Elita to be any different than the twins and it will be best if we are all together for them. We will make this work for them and for Optimus. We have to - I will not accept any sort of failure from us for any of the sparklings needs.”

Ratchet’s shoulders sank in relief. “I want that too and I’ll do whatever needs to be done to ensure they all feel loved. Optimus gave everything for them, we can do nothing less.”

Megatron smiled and gave him a nod. “Good. Now tell me how long must I remain on berth rest?”

“Everything looks good so far so right now I’ll leave it to no transforming and if you have any error messages you tell me right away, but I’ll let you start walking around here. If everything goes well, we’ll see about lifting some more restrictions tomorrow.”

Ratchet offered him a hand and he took it as the medic helped him to his feet. Everything remained in the green and perhaps it would stay that way, at least for a little while for his world.


End file.
